Sanibel Deli does pizzas to go ‘green’ style
For many folks, there’s nothing better than a pizza delivered fresh to your door after a long work day.
And how about a helping of more trash in the nations landfills on the side?
Not too appetizing?
Well, the bottom line a– ccording to websites like earth911.com — is cardboard
boxes used to hold pizza is typically not recycleable because of the grease and remnants left in them. So they often wind up in landfills.
But one local deli has come up with an idea to keep the community’s pizza pangs satisfied as well as maintain a cleaner environment.
The Sanibel Deli and Coffee Factory is using reusable hybrid pizza boxes to fill their customers orders, said owner Jeff Weigel.
The boxes, which Weigel pays $12 each for, are made from recycled plastic and
neatly fits a large pizza.
Weigel started using the eco-friendly pizza boxes last week. He said the idea came about as a result of the popular pizza portion of his business.
The Sanibel Deli began selling New York-style pizzas several months ago.
“Every week we get so many repeat pizza customers,” Weigel said. “I kept thinking I could give them reusable boxes and help the environment.”
The response to the reusable boxes has been good.
“They (customers) think its really neat,” he said.
Customers get a choice of paying a $5 fee for using the hybrid pizza boxes or splitting the price of a box with Weigel and having their name printed on it. Weigel will let customers who choose this option recoup their money by taking a dollar off the next six pizzas they order.
Weigel, who is working on keeping his eatery environmentally-friendly, said using the reusable boxes is another step in keeping trash down.
“It’s not going to save money for me, but it will contribute to saving the environment,” Weigel said. “Because of how much pizza we sell its a good way to keep the cardboard boxes out of the landfill.”