Solving the Pizza Box Recycling Mystery

As we prepare for Superbowl Sunday, the most popular item on the menu is sure to be pizza. More than 12 million pizzas are sold on game day alone—and across the U.S., an estimated 3 billion pizza boxes are discarded each year!

For years, grease was thought to make pizza boxes unrecyclable. However, a scientific study by WestRock—a major cardboard recycler and processor of Monroe County’s recyclables—found that the average amount of grease in a pizza box does not affect the quality of the recycled product.

So what does this mean for us? Good news: pizza boxes can be recycled—even greasy ones! Just be sure they’re empty. Before recycling, remove leftover crusts, chicken wing bones, and any wax paper liners.

Now that’s a recycling win—no matter who takes home the trophy!

Updated Recycling Resources

In late 2025, Monroe County was excited to announce the addition of paper and plastic to-go cups to the curbside recycling program. Now accepted countywide —no matter which collection company serves your home—helping grow recycling one cup at a time.

To help residents recycle right, updated recycling information cards are available at Town and Village offices, local libraries, or can be requested by mail through our website.

Our website serves as a one-stop resource hub for recycling tools, guidelines, and local resources—everything you need to recycle smarter. We’re always working to make these materials more accessible, and we’ve recently refreshed the site to make it even more user-friendly and easier to navigate.

How do I recycle...?

When you've got recycling questions, we have answers! Some of our most popular resources are highlighted below.

Website Search Tool

Simply click the “How Do I Recycle…” search tool and type in the item you have questions about.
Instructions—including whether the item belongs in curbside recycling, the ecopark, or the trash—are provided for more than 300 items.
When available, links to convenient and alternative drop-off locations will automatically appear.

Ask Alexa

If you have an Alexa smart speaker or device, just say "Open the Monroe County Recycling Skill."
The skill is available in eight languages, making recycling information more accessible to a diverse audience.
The smart speaker application also provides an easy-to-use option for residents who are visually impaired.
The free Alexa app can be downloaded on a smartphone, allowing Monroe County’s Recycling Skill to be accessed right from your phone!

Monroe County Recycling Website

Seasonal Reduce & Reuse Tip:

Post-holiday overflow means it’s donation season! The average American discards about 81 pounds of clothing and shoes each year—but textiles should never go in your recycling bin. With so many donation and resale options, there’s no reason for clothing to end up in the trash either. Confirm acceptance policies with donation locations first. You can also declutter responsibly by repairing, repurposing, or regifting items through community resources like Buy Nothing groups.

WXXI Connections

We recently had the opportunity to discuss recycling cups, glass, thermoform plastics, pizza boxes, batteries, tree-cycling and more recently on WXXI Connections. You can listen to the full episode here:

'Can this be recycled?': A guide to holida y (and year-round) recycling | WXXI Ne ws

Monroe County Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Plan

Our Sustainability team welcomes you to take Monroe County’s Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Plan Survey. By completing this survey, all participants will have a chance to win a $50 gift card to a local grocery store. Five (5) winners will be chosen at random.