“It definitely doesn’t belong in your blue bin”
Bin men found a number of unfinished pizzas in blue recycling bins
People in a Greater Manchester borough have been advised to make sure they recycle properly after “greasy” pizza boxes caused issues for bin men. Wigan Council took to social media to alert people about the act that can “ruin a wagon load” of recycling.The post featured four pictures of pizza boxes, still with a healthy serving of slices inside, and highlighted the importance of only putting clean paper and cardboard boxes in the blue bin, while stressing that oily pizza boxes are to be dumped in the black bin.According to Takeaway Packaging, an eco-friendly food packaging supplier based in the UK, the reason for this is because of how cardboard and paper is recycled.
Before being processed, the material spends a good amount of time in storage. During this time, the food and grease residue begins to rot and attracts insects and rodents.
Some of the pizzas were barely half eaten
Cardboard is washed with soapy water and other chemicals to remove any coloured inks or glue, however, it can take a lot of scrubbing to rid it of the oil and grease. This same oil and grease can mix with water, making it impossible to separate the oil from the paper fibres.Depending on the level of contamination, an entire batch can be ruined by greasy pizza boxes, says Takeaway Packaging.
The post reads: “We can’t believe anyone would throw away this much pizza either! And it definitely doesn’t belong in your blue bin…even a greasy pizza box can ruin a whole wagon load because it can’t be recycled.
“These photos were all taken by our crews in just one week, so please remember: Greasy pizza boxes- black bin. Leftover pizza- green bin. Paper and clean cardboard- blue bin.”