WestRock Touts Sustainable Value Of Pizza Boxes
stream or 2.2 percent of the OCC and mixed paper stream combined. • Pizza boxes currently found in the recycling stream have an average grease content of approximately one to two percent by weight level. • Grease is hydrophobic and when pizza boxes approach a 20 wt% concentration of the furnish, grease interfer- ence with inter-fiber bonding begins to result in signifi- cant paper strength loss (~5 percent). At pizza box con- centrations under 10 percent paper strength loss is low. • The strength loss as a function of “greasy” fiber and pre-consumer board was almost linear in the 0-20 wt% blend level. • Cheese, comprised of fats and proteins, is hydrophilic and does not hinder hydrogen inter-fiber bonding of fibers. Cheese tends to solidify and get screened out during the pulping process. The study concludes that there is no significant techni- cal reason to prohibit post-consumer pizza boxes from the recycle stream. An estimated 73 percent of the US population has ac- cess to recycling programs that include pizza boxes. The Paper and Packaging Board (P+PB) recently recognized “powerhouse” states that make it easy for citizens to recy- cle their pizza boxes. According to their analysis produced by Resource Recycling Systems, at least 90 percent of res- idents in 10 states and the District of Columbia can recycle their pizza boxes.
The WestRock Company was recently in Las Vegas for the International Pizza Expo, which was billed as the largest pizza show in the world. The Atlanta, Georgia based company attended not only to deliver their packaging solutions and merchandiz- ing displays, but to educate the masses on the sustainable benefits of corrugated pizza boxes. Most importantly, they would answer the oft asked question, “Are pizza boxes re- cyclable?” That would be a ‘yes’ and they have the science to prove it. In 2020, WestRock commissioned a study that exam- ined what affect residual cheese and grease might have on the recyclability of a pizza box. High concentrations of grease can interfere with “inter-fiber bonding” which can result in paper loss strength. Their findings were endorsed by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA). Here is a summary: • The number of pizza boxes placed on the market in the U.S. annually is estimated to be 3 billion boxes, equat- ing to 600,000 tons of corrugated board. Pizza boxes represent 1.7 percent of the 35.9 million tons of cor- rugated containerboard produced in the U.S. annually. • If all pizza boxes were recovered for recycling, they would represent approximately 2.6 percent of the OCC
12 April 3, 2023
www.boardconvertingnews.com
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online