How To Recycle Your Pizza Box

I know a lot of people say, “Pizza is LIFE.” But, like…. pizza is life.

Growing up allergic to dairy, I never got to indulge in that pizza party life. Sure, we’d make our own cheeseless pizzas at home… but then one day… everything changed.

I was a senior in high school and a friend had a pizza party for her birthday. We all went over to her house (we had off campus lunches) and she had ordered me a CHEESELESS PIZZA. I had no idea you could order a pizza without the cheese.

I had never even thought to ask. Now, I have to make up for all of those lost pizza years.

Then fast forward to my senior year of college when my roommate takes me to Mellow Mushroom in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (I’m from Arkansas, remember? ;)

And, they had DAIRY-FREE CHEESE options FOR THE PIZZA!! See, non-dairy alternatives are commonplace now, but back then it was a rarity.

This was the first pizza I had ever had with “cheese” on it, and I was hooked. Mellow Mushroom is still my favorite pizza of all.

Since, moving to California and the growing acceptance of food allergies and dietary restrictions almost every pizza place in the area has a non-dairy cheese and gluten-free crust options. My, how things have changed.

So, I’ve been making up for lost time with a sacred Friday night pizza party for one! (Well, two… if you count Justin but he has to fight me for slices)

We often go out for pizza, but we also stay in super snuggly in our favorite tentree duds. Yes, I get my pizza delivered - yes, in a cardboard box. Yes, it’s disposable and I freely admit my weakness!

Thing is pizza boxes are compostable! But, are they recyclable? I cover it all in the video down below.

For more tips on how to recycle the right way, check out my series below!

Where to Buy Carbon Offsets and Why You Should

As I started writing this post, I wondered why do we call them carbon offsets instead of greenhouse gas offsets?

Other than the fact carbon offset just sounds a lot better.

Carbon / Carbon Dioxide / CO2 is a greenhouse gas but it’s not the only greenhouse gas. It’s not even the most potent or strong greenhouse gas out there! But, it is the most prevalent one making up about 64% of the greenhouse gases released.

Greenhouse gasses trap heat in the atmosphere which is where we get the term “Global Warming.” Other greenhouse gases include Methane, CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons), Nitrous Oxide, and Fluorinated gasses.

Fluorinated gasses for instance only make up about 1% of the greenhouse gases emitted, but are some of the biggest problems because some of these gases can last for thousands of years. They can trap anywhere from a few hundred to 23,000 times more heat than the same amount of CO2! (source)

Fluorinated gases come from leaking coolants in fridges and air conditioners are ranked as the number one way to fight climate change in one of my favorite books Drawdown.

So, what does this have to with buying carbon offsets? Not, much other than I just think it’s interesting.

Back to offsets, for me, it comes back down to everything we do has an impact. There’s no one perfect choice to be made but rather a series of choices ranging from ok to good, better, and best.

Each choice you make has a GHG (greenhouse gas) price tag associated with it, and a you can calculate all of these GHG price tags from events, flights, or by year and figure out your carbon footprint.

how to calculate your carbon footprint:

The quiz at footprintcalculator.org is my favorite one. You can popover and plug-in the details of your life/last year and then it will calculate how high your carbon footprint is including how many Earth’s we’d need to survive if everyone lived like you.

Back when I lived in the tiny home, my carbon footprint was one earth. Which is great because we have one earth, but now that we moved to a slightly bigger place Justin and are at about 1.3 earths.

It can feel a little discouraging when you feel like you’re doing a really good job, but still can’t get seem to reach that one earth goal.

But, I don’t want you to be discouraged! Having that knowledge is good so you can improve certain aspects of your life.

And, sometimes these things just aren’t avoidable depending on where you are in life. My husband commutes to work. He uses public transit, which is a better option, but it still doesn’t erase his carbon footprint - it’s still there.

Thankfully, this is where carbon offsets come into play.

what are carbon offsets:

I kind of want to start calling them GHG offsets, but I digress. Carbon offsets are a way to offset your carbon footprint.

Of course, the number one goal should be to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions we’re responsible for and then offset what’s leftover.

This is a way of neutralizing your footprint by supporting organizations and projects that will remove (insert your desired amount) of greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere.

It’s kind of like going into a ceramic store and smashing one of the ceramic cups. Yeah, you probably shouldn’t have done it, but as long as you pay for it you’re even.

what to look for when buying carbon offsets:

Carbon offset programs have often been criticized for being scams.

While you can certainly buy into a scam, I’m going to help you know what you should be looking for to avoid being scammed AND give you some of my recommendations for getting your offset on!

There’s transparency:

You know your gut reactions? Trust them. Typically a company that is doing good is transparent. You should be able to easily get the information that you’re looking for on a website.

They’re certified:

Check out Green-E which helps individuals figure out which offsetting programs are reliable, and The Climate Action Reserve which sets standards, rules, and protocols for offsetting projects.

The seller can prove it’s real:

Let’s say that you want to fund a project to support a landowner in the rainforest. The landowner will receive monetary compensation for leaving his trees standing tall.

The seller should be able to prove that this scenario is real. That there is a landowner in the rainforest who’s agreed to this and that it’s not some future hypothetical situation. Make sure that the person/group/organization they’re working with actually exists - right now.

It’s verified and enforceable:

A third party should be able to verify what’s being said is actually true. A third party should be able to head to the landowner’s area to check on the trees and make sure it’s all going according to plan. If it’s not going to plan, then the third party can penalize the landowner.

It’s a permanent solution:

The third party also needs to verify that the solution is mostly permanent. (obviously sometimes a natural disaster might strike which is out of anyone’s control) But, on the whole it’s important to make sure the project is one that’s going to last.

For instance, if you choose to plant trees as part of your carbon offsetting program, (one I tend to select) it takes a tree 40 years to reach maturity and absorb 1 ton of carbon. If you’re planting trees in a forest that’s going to be cut down 10 years later, then it’s not an efficient carbon offset.

The offset must be additional:

What if the landowner never had any intention of cutting down his trees? Did you actually offset anything or just make a donation/gift to the landowner?

Beyond that is leakage. So, let’s say the landowner refuses to cut down his trees and passes on a deal with a logging company. If the logging company buys the plot of land next door, then your dollars shifted the deforestation rather than preventing it which is called leakage.

where to buy you carbon offsets:

1. reformation:

This cool girl brand has been carbon neutral since 2015. They’ve partnered with Native Energy, which is focused on renewable energy projects, to bring carbon offsets straight to their e-commerce platform which I think is AMAZING.

Next time you’re shopping for a sustainable party dress you can offset your flight, year, or your zero waste wedding!

Check out their Carbon is Cancelled Campaign. They’ll even give you $100 in store credit if you switch your bill to wind energy.

2. conservation fund:

The Conservation Fund has been in business since 1985 and they have a very robust website with lots of different projects to choose from.

They have saved more than 8 million acres of land and water in all 50 states, and every dollar invested in their Revolving Fund goes directly to protecting land, over and over. By recycling these dollars, they have saved lands valued at more than $6.3 billion.

3. terrapass:

Terrapass works with several different types of projects across America. They work with farms to make the best use of animal waste, help create solar farms, and installing methane capture in landfills.

You can head to their project lists to find a project near you.

4. cool effect:

I’ve copied and pasted a section from their about page. Notice any of the verbiage?

“Every international carbon standard requires a project to provide and prove measurements based on peer-approved scientific methodologies.

“This documentation is reviewed by two independent Technical Advisory Committees. Cool Effect verifies, once more, the work of these Committees as well as validates the financial durability of the project.

This process guarantees projects that are scientifically and financially strong and ethically sound.

“It also guarantees that our projects are 100% additional—which means that the reduction in carbon emissions would not have happened under any other circumstances.”

5. arbor day foundation:

This is where I typically purchase my offsets.

I also like that they have a selection of cards you can buy and each one plants a tree! I like that I can pick out out which forest to plant them in. I especially like that they have a section for the forests that were damaged in the wildfires in California. Yay for helping my state!

6. us forest service

You can also go really old school and write a check and send it to the US Forest Service. While this isn’t technically an offset package, you’re still offsetting because you’re planting trees. They will be planted in protected areas so you know they’ll reach maturity!

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I really hope that you’ve found this blog post helpful. I would love to know if you’ve offset your carbon footprint and what program you chose for it?

My Top 10 Favorite Zero Waste Swaps

Every Wednesday I publish a little YouTube video. I’ve decided I want to do a short (or long) blog post to accompany the video!

This one is going to be a short run down of my 10 favorite zero waste swaps! If I decided to become super wasteful tomorrow, (which I won’t) but for the sake of this post we’ll pretend like I’m going to…. these are the 10 swaps I would NEVER give up.

Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information please see my disclosure policy.

They have all made my life easier in some way!

Prefer video content? Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

1. french press:

It should come as no surprise that I LOVE to make tea in my french press. I find that it works much better than using a tea ball or a reusable tea bag.

If you have a small kitchen, it’s important to have items that can perform multiple tasks. I like the french press because I can use it to make tea, coffee, or nut milk. Yes, your french press can strain your nut milk!

Get my tips for making almond milk and for making iced tea with loose leaf tea.

2. bidet attachment:

The bidet attachment is one of both Justin and my favorite zero waste swaps. The National Resources Defense Council just released a report that Americans use almost 3 rolls of toilet paper a WEEK!

That’s so crazy to me. Justin and I don’t even go through a roll of toilet paper a week, and that’s thanks to our bidet attachment! We’ve had both a Brondell and a Tushy and both work great.

For more information on bidets check out this post Everything You Need to Know About Bidets.

3. thinx:

Thinx are my preferred zero waste menstrual product of choice! I love them because they feel just like wearing a regular pair of undies. When you’re feeling crummy and crampy, it’s nice to feel somewhat normal without wearing a bulky pad.

I am a #ThinxLeader which means if you’re interested in purchasing any Thinx you can get $10 off your order with this link.

Of course, there are several other zero waste options, check out this blog post How to Have a Zero Waste Period for more info.

4. fountain pen:

Now, this swap came as a total surprise to me. I’m left-handed, and if you’re left-handed, you’ll understand the ink on pinky problem. I thought using a fountain pen would be a TRAGEDY. But, you hold the pen differently when you’re using a fountain pen vs. a ballpoint pen.

I have a Dryden that I’m really happy with and use Parker Ink.

Check out this post, if you’re looking for more zero waste office and school supplies.

5. cloth napkins:

I’m surprised that cloth napkins are one of my favorite switches seeing how much I hate doing laundry, but I do love my cloth napkins.

These ones are especially dear to my heart because I hand stitched them. When I first started going zero waste I was on a super tight budget so I bought about a yard or two of fabric from the thrift store and stitched the napkins up.

Check out these tips for Going Zero Waste on a Budget.

6. bamboo toothbrush:

This was one of the first switches I made and it honestly made shopping for toothbrushes so much easier. I was always overwhelmed by the toothbrush options at the grocery store.

I could never remember the brand or type of toothbrush I used… so thanks to Brush with Bamboo I don’t have to worry about that anymore.

Check out this post on DIY Toothpowder.

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A post shared by Kathryn Kellogg (@going.zero.waste) on Aug 21, 2018 at 11:20am PDT

7. glass straw:

This switch really surprised me, but I really, really love drinking water from a straw. It helps me drink a lot more water. My favorite straw is the glass straw.

Check out this blog post if you’re wondering Which Reusable Straw is Best?

8. glass snapware:

I LOVE my glass snapware. I like that it’s so versatile. You can buy food or even get zero waste takeout the containers. You can cook in them, freeze in them, microwave them, and of course, use them store leftovers.

They work so much better for me than just shoving everything in a mason jar. Check out this post if you’re looking for ways to Store Leftovers Without Plastic .

9. handkerchief:

The best thing about cloth handkerchiefs is that your nose doesn’t chafe like with paper. When you blow your nose with a paper tissue small pieces of paper can get up your nose causing you to sneeze.

Most of my handkerchiefs are vintage from my great-grandmother, ones that I’ve picked up from a garage sale for about .25 cents a piece, or bandanas!

10. bar of soap:

Last but not least, is a bar of soap. It’s such a simple swap to make from plastic body wash to a bar of soap. I think it looks so much nicer in the shower and it’s just really luxurious.

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What’s one of your favorite zero swaps you’ve made?