Good Thinking

Green Box - the eco-friendly pizza box with built-in plates

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Green Box features four built-in plates
Green Box folded up to act as a storage container and put in the fridge
Green Box as shipped
Green Box separated into its individual parts
Green Box features four built-in plates
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Thought there wasn't much you could do with the design of a pizza box? Wrong. Environmentally Conscious Organization, Inc., (E. C. O.) has come up with what it calls the "Green Box" – a pizza box made from recycled cardboard with a perforated lid that you can easily turn it into four plates and a base that becomes a storage container for leftovers.

Clever design

It's nice to see a company redesigning such an established product. As the box folds down to half the size to function as a storage container, you might not have to rearrange your fridge next time you want to put your leftover pizza away. This, along with the other half separating into four "plates", gives it an advantage over other pizza boxes. E.C.O. also claims that it won't cost any more than a standard pizza box.

Green Box folded up to act as a storage container and put in the fridge

Recycled materials

Of course, the most environmentally friendly option for pizza eaters is to sit down and eat off a plate... or at least a reusable pizza box. But with literally billion of pizza’s going down the hatch in the U.S alone each year and, according to E.C.O., around 70% of these being served in boxes, it's clear that this option isn't for everyone.Tests have shown that if the original material used to make the boxes contains large amounts of "inks, adhesives and other substances", the food put into the boxes can be exposed to chemicals harmful to humans.

E.C.O. says it offers the option of using an FDA approved, environmentally friendly, vegetable based coating that can be sprayed onto the liner of the box or added to the ‘wet’ recycling process to make the box 100% recyclable.

Via Likecool.

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7 comments
Peter Martin
Very little not to like here:) Even with anchovies.
Peter Junkk Male Junkk.com
Kate Thomas
I love this 150%! We do this anyway at my house, so it is nice to see a company being proactive in households all over. And the fact it doesn\'t cost anymore means there is no excuse for all pizza companies to adopt this eco friendly box!
www.greenthinkingblog.com
windykites
Kate: It\'s a shame you didn\'t patent the idea first. Also I think you mean there is no excuse for all pizza companies NOT to adopt this eco friendly box! It is a good idea.
Gene Jordan
I am surprised this wasn\'t thought of long ago. I hope it catches on and becomes the norm in pizza delivery.
Rudy
WHY DIDN\'T I THINK OF THAT?!?!?!?!! Pizza box cardboard is sturdier than most paper plates anyway!

FREAKIN\' GENIUS!!!!
Facebook User
Pizza boxes are such a part of everyday life. Seems like someone could coordinate a Green Challenge for other similar items and make it an open source/crowd sourced problem-solving opportunity. Eco Friendly Products
Connor B
I like the company's intent on going 'greener' with clever and innovative designs, though the difficulty in doing that with pizza boxes are that they become un-recyclable after use.
In recycling cardboard, food contaminants (grease in this case) ruin batches of potentially recyclable material every day, thus rendering this pizza box along with every pizza box that has ever had contact with the pizza itself un-recyclable. I am not convinced that a vegetable coating option will magically alleviate this widespread issue as there is currently no evidence supporting it.
Still 100% compostable and potentially saves you from washing a few dishes, but should not be recycled.