A popular bin man has shared a simple trick for dealing with greasy pizza boxes, urging households to tear the cardboard in half rather than throw the whole thing away.
The No1 Binman, who has more than 200,000 followers and nearly four million likes on TikTok, tackled the waste dilemma in one of his videos. He warned that pizza boxes can be "quite complicated" because councils have different rules up and down the UK.
Rip it in half
The council worker turned influencer advises people to inspect the box before throwing it away. If it is heavily covered in grease, he revealed the affected section should go straight in general waste. Meanwhile, a clean section can be separated and placed in the recycling.
The No1 Bin Man explained: "If it has one half which has grease on it, and the other half is absolutely fine, just rip it in half."
Why grease matters
There is good reason for being careful with the cardboard. Lancashire County Council, for instance, says grease from food, including pizza boxes, can make it difficult to separate paper and cardboard fibres during recycling.
North London Waste Authority takes a similar approach, saying pizza boxes can be recycled when they are not covered with lots of oil, grease or food, although a small amount of grease is acceptable.
Check local rules
But there is an important catch: your local council's rules come first. Newcastle City Council, for example, accepts pizza boxes in its blue recycling bins provided they do not contain unwanted food residue, while other councils have different arrangements.
The No1 Binman also reminded viewers to remove any leftover pizza before dealing with the box, with food waste going into the appropriate food-waste collection where available.
