Starting on January 1, Washington, D.C., residents are now legally required to recycle their used pizza boxes and other paper and plastic items used to serve food and beverages.

Back in October, the list of recyclable items in Washington, D.C., was expanded to include pizza boxes and other food-contaminated recyclables. Now, it will be against the law to throw away these boxes or containers in the trash. You MUST recycle them. Obviously, this is an attempt to make D.C. "greener" by reducing the amount of waste going to landfills or incinerators. Most recycling companies do not usually accept used pizza boxes. In order for a recyclable to be accepted, it needs to be cleaned and free of food debris or grease. Anyone who has ordered pizza before knows that pizza boxes always have leftover food or grease in them. Cardboard usually gets soaked in water at processing plants before it is recycled into new cardboard or paper. This "slurry" is then turned into pulp and used to make new paper products. Everyone knows that oil and water don't mix. If oil is introduced into this slurry, it can stop paper fibers from separating. Even a tiny amount of oil can ruin an entire batch of recycled paper products. For this reason, recycling companies typically discard pizza boxes with serious grease stains. The District of Columbia now joins a select number of cities that will accept recyclables contaminated by food waste, though it is unclear how the city plans to overcome the basic chemistry that has prevented greasy pizza boxes from being recycled. District of Columbia Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Christopher Shorter encouraged all D.C. residents to pay more attention to recycling. “We encourage all residents to begin recycling these new items at home, at work, and in schools,” he said. “These items, in addition to everything residents are already accustomed to recycling, can be placed loose in the blue recycling bins residents bring out to the curb each week.” The United States Environmental Protection Agency praised Washington, D.C.'s change in policy.

“The EPA salutes the District’s efforts to expand recycling options for its residents and businesses. Innovative local efforts like this help divert valuable items from the waste stream and back into productive use,” declared Nigel Simon, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator of the EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management. “This helps save resources and energy, spur new economic development, and create job opportunities.”

In addition to mandatory recycling of greasy pizza boxes, the local statute now also requires residents to recycle other waste items typically contaminated by food waste, including paper and plastic plates, cups, lids, to-go containers, produce/deli/bakery containers, and trays. Even though the amount of acceptable food waste has been increased, it is still important to rinse your recyclables as best as possible before putting them to the street. Any leftover food waste can prevent the waste from being recycled and will likely result in it being sent to a landfill. The District does not have an efficient enforcement mechanism. If you continue to throw away pizza boxes or other food containers, you likely won't face a fine. There simply aren't enough DPW inspectors to enforce these new requirements across the entire city. Like other municipalities, primary enforcement will probably focus heavily on companies, since they tend to produce the most trash. However, you should still do your best to make sure that your recyclables make their way into the proper containers. What do you think? Is it a good idea for D.C. to make pizza box recycling mandatory? Let us know in the comment section below!