The "Green Box"

In American society today, tremendous pressure is being put on industry to increase the nation's sustainability. These changes range from the auto-industry, to the energy-industry, to even the pizza industry. Wait, the pizza industry? Yes, the Environmentally Conscious Organization Inc. is announcing the "Green Box" to revolutionize the traditional cardboard pizza box. The company claims to provide a more environmentally sound product that introduces superior functionality and convenience.

The "Green Box" is a pizza box that breaks down into serving plates and a more functional storage container. The top of the box contains perforations to be divided into four serving plates. The remainder of the box folds easily into a more compact storage container, compared to using the entire box. This new pizza box can be produced for consumer use at no additional cost, and can be made out of one hundred percent recycled material, where as a traditional box would be about sixty percent recycled material. This product seems very convenient, but has been questioned as an eco-friendly alternative.

Most pizza boxes can't be recycled because of the grease stains caused by the pizza. According to Lori Brown, "food is one of the worst contaminants in the paper recycling process." During the recycling of paper products, the paper and cardboard is combined and mixed with water. Since oil and water do not mix, the paper fibers can't be separated during the pulping process to create recycled materials. Consequently, only the tops of pizza boxes can generally be recycled. The "Green Box," which seeks to utilize the entire box through serving plates loses all possibility of being recycled, because the top can no longer be recycled.

While the "Green Box" may not be the most "Green" solution in terms of recycling, this product is a functional and convenient option. The box is a very innovative concept that seems both handy and practical for parties and informal occasions. The box is made out of one hundred percent recycled material, and renders the need of paper plates to be non-existent. The sheer idea seems novel enough to be considered a beneficial alternative.