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   From: nutsrus@portland.com   
      
   Angelita Morillo, Portland nutjob.   
      
   My most recent Dominos box featured the message “Do Your Slice: Recycle   
   This Pizza Box.” As a longtime reader of your column, I know that Metro   
   specifically DOESN’T want us to recycle pizza boxes. Does Dominos really   
   not know this, or are they just giving us a giant middle finger in the   
   name of corporate greenwashing? —Crusty   
      
   Count your blessings, Crusty—given U.S. corporations’ environmental   
   history, it’s easy to imagine a world where Dominos boxes are made from   
   crystallized dioxin mixed with the skulls of baby harp seals. Fortunately,   
   in this world they’re not. (You’re probably thinking of Little Caesars.)   
   Moreover, cardboard really is recyclable—it’s only the soaked-in pizza   
   grease that kills the vibe.   
      
   That said, you’re a bit late to the party; Dominos introduced these feel-   
   good boxes all the way back in 2022. (The subhead reads “Oven Baked Pizza   
   With A Side Of Responsibility,” in case the main message isn’t insincere   
   enough for you.) That means they’ve spent three full years ignoring the   
   pleas of recycling professionals (like those at Metro) to keep greasy   
   pizza boxes out of the recycling bin. Are they malicious, or just obtuse?   
      
   It turns out that the prohibition on pizza boxes isn’t as ironclad as we   
   here in Portland might suppose. While grease isn’t good for the paper   
   recycling process, plenty of U.S. jurisdictions have decided a little bit   
   of it isn’t a deal-breaker, and do accept lightly soiled pizza boxes for   
   recycling. The message you saw is directed at customers in those areas;   
   the rest of us are supposed to ignore it.   
      
   Or at least we were! As part of my continuing quest to bury every lede, I   
   can now announce that as of July 1, Portlanders are allowed to put pizza   
   boxes in their recycling. (Try to contain your hosannas.) According to   
   Metro, boxes should be “mostly free from grease, and there shouldn’t be   
   any leftover food.” Greasier boxes still go in the compost (or, for   
   apartment dwellers, the trash).   
      
   The change is part of Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act. One hopes it   
   isn’t related to what appears to be a pressure campaign on the part of   
   Dominos to promote universal pizza box recycling. Their website goes so   
   far as to call the industry’s grease-based hesitation an “urban legend,”   
   which seems a bit high-handed. They also proudly cite a recent study they   
   say proves that pizza grease is no big deal. (The study came from the   
   company that supplies their boxes, but I’m sure it’s legit.)   
      
   Questions? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com.   
      
   https://www.wweek.com/news/dr-know/2025/11/16/portlanders-are-finally-   
   allowed-to-put-pizza-boxes-in-their-recycling/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)