Watch this 45-second video. Then smack yourself on the forehead for not thinking of it first.


(HT: Doug Flather)

20 Responses to “Idea of the day: Eco-friendly pizza box”

  1. Bob Poole says:

    Smack! I especially like the storage piece. Beats trying to get the entire box in the fridge with 2 pieces left in it. I wonder what they could do to make a better container than the plastic ones used for takeout sushi.

  2. That’s called elegance. All four factors present: symmetry, seduction, subtraction, sustainability.

  3. Jon says:

    D’oh! So simple and elegant, and all done with a few perforations.

    Of course, you don’t want to put you hot leftovers in the fridge right away, that’s not very green 🙂

    Wonder when we will see it live?

  4. Pizza boxes are such a part of everyday life. Seems like someone could coordinate a Green Challenge for other similar items (like the sushi takeout mentioned above) and make it an open source/crowdsourced problem-solving opportunity. Wonder if the packing associations are doing anything like that?

  5. Andrea says:

    I love this…..

  6. Matt says:

    Yes, it seems great on first look, but it ignores how we actually use pizza boxes. The lid already has an essential use–it keeps the pizza warm in-between servings.

  7. Quyen Arana says:

    I’m smacking myself now!

  8. This is too cool. Not only can you make Origami with it, but it serves a purpose and goes Green! What else can anyone ask for?

  9. Derek says:

    how exactly is this eco-friendly? in the end, it’s all going to toward the same place, whether you use the box as plates or not. you can only reuse a cardboard box so many times before it’s sent to the compost pile or garbage heap. it’s a nifty idea, and certainly profitable if marketed correctly, but the ephemeral nature of the box prevents it from being “green.”

  10. Yum! Interesting how this box makes the pizza more appealing, too. But I refuse to smack myself! 🙂

  11. Ryan Taft says:

    I saw this on 20/20 the other night. Very cool! It’s things like this that will drive America from Recession to Prosperity. It has inspired me to keep searching for that next big idea.

  12. Peggy says:

    Doh! I just felt the dope smack!

    What a fabulous idea…and I hope to see it pizza boxes everywhere!

  13. Ben Knight says:

    Nice find, thanks for sharing. Yes, it certainly is a step in the right direction. Though cardboard is not always broken down very well http://bit.ly/24FBx hmmm…

  14. L.L. says:

    Once paper becomes dirtied with oils or grease, it becomes UN-recyclable!!!! Not to mention that cardboards are generally NOT allowed in w/the recycled papers. Yes. It’s a “nifty” idea. But it’s NOT eco-friendly!!!! Sorry.

  15. Jim Seybert says:

    Yes it is – by using the box top as plates, you reduce the material needed to make for plates. By reusing the half-box as the storage container, you reduce the need for aluminum foil or a zip-lock baggie.

    This IS a sustainable idea and darn good one at that. It’s not only about recycling. We need to use less and this does that.

  16. I agree with Ryan Taft who posted his comment on June 22nd. I do not watch TV so I did not see this on 20/20. My question is what happens next? Does the inventor sell his patent to the people making the Pizza boxes now and let them sell them to Pizza Hut, etc.? I would like to hear what happens with this. Email me at [email protected].

  17. JulieR says:

    I still prefer to eat my pizza on a plate with a knife and fork! 😉

  18. Jay says:

    I’ve actually done the serving plate thing before, but the storage box is a really cool idea!

  19. Terra says:

    Food soiled cardboard should not be put in the recycling bin. If the lid of a pizza box does not have any grease, it can be torn from the rest of the box and recycled, but the bottom and sides of the box need to be either composted (ideal) or thrown away. I have not done a study of the relative green merits of dirtying a plate vs. using the cardboard that the pizza came in, but please don’t put food-soiled containers of any kind in your recycling bins!

  20. satz31 says:

    It’s OK, however, the reason you are not supposed to recycle pizza boxes is because of the grease and food on the cardboard itself. This does not solve that problem at all.