Celebrate National Pizza Day this year by not only enjoying a slice of your favorite pizza, but also recycling the box in came in!  

The debate as to whether pizza boxes can be recycled, is as time honored as choosing your favorite toppings to adorn your pizza. A recent study conducted found that a used pizza box may most certainly be treated as any other recyclable material. 

In 2020, pizza box manufacturers and paper mills came together and discovered the box that keeps your pizza fresh and hot, is 100% recyclable. Made from the same material as a typical corrugated box, this material has a recovery recycle rate of 92%.    

Even though there is still conflicting information across the country regarding of how of how to dispose your old pizza box. Local OC haulers recommend if the box is greasy, tear the top half off and place in your recycle bin. The bottom may go in the trash.   

If you have any questions please reach out to your local waste hauler for your city here.    

Happy Pizza Day!   

OC Waste and Recycling would like to remind our residents, that the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Centers, (HHWs), are required to close during rain events. This may include intermittent closures during regular operating hours, as centers may reopen when weather permits. Fortunately, those days are often few and far between. 

With four locations to choose from, HHW centers are located throughout Orange County and serve as safe disposal area for those wishing to dispose of items that you cannot place in your waste bin. FREE to all residents of Orange County, common items include batteries, paint or motor oil. For more information, click here.  

Note: Landfills remain open during inclement weather, but please expect some delay if wishing to utilize our active landfill sites.  

All Hands meetings are a long-standing tradition. We gather quarterly (virtually during COVID) for a chance to mix, mingle, get to know our fellow team members and hear the latest from the director. Employee recognition awards are presented, new employees are introduced, and promotions and years of service awards are announced. Watch email and bulletin board postings for Save the Date notices and invitation.

OCWR is structured to address three principal pillars: Compliance, Operations, Customer Service. The Director reports to the CEO and is responsible to the Board of Supervisors. ​

Business Services/External Affairs section is responsible for budget, procurement, admin, IT, legislation, contracts, strategic communications, programs, HHWs, fee booths. BSEA is the primary unit responsible for serving the Customer Service Pillar.  

Safety is integral to the department’s culture and success. It is a value rather than a priority – priorities change, but values are the core of an organization. Our landfill sites are considered high hazard work places. However workplace safety at HQ is just as essential. You will receive messages about required trainings specific to your position as well as general trainings such as ergonomics and defensive driving. It will be very important to meet the training deadlines.

Welcome! Congratulations on joining the OCWR Team!

Below are links to resources and information on a variety of topics about our department, to help you get started on your first few days. We look forward to working with you.

For those of us who enjoy spending our time in and around the ocean, a common site that usually accompanies those blue skies and majestic sunsets, unfortunately, can be the unsightly waste products that we typically see: that water bottle carelessly tossed on the sand, the plastic red cup floating on the waves, or most recently, facial coverings washed up on the shore.

While our response to combat COVID-19 has been positive in terms of maintaining social distancing and wearing facial coverings, a by-product of these measures have led to our oceans becoming polluted with a new culprit.

By some estimations, approximately 129 billion facial masks are now disposed of every month. Inevitably, some of those will most certainly end up in our oceans. OceansAsia, the conservation organization, estimates that as much as 1.5 billion face masks may find their way into various marine ecosystems in the year 2021.

While California has always championed the fight to preserve our environment and keep our oceans clean, we at OC Waste & Recycling would like to further this cause by imploring our readers to adopt the strategy of using reusable face masks whenever possible. Reusable face masks are in fact recommended by The World Health Organization (WHO) and not only can they be worn repeatedly, but they are easy to maintain, and you will be doing your part in reducing the amount of waste entering our landfills and water ways.

A reusable cloth face mask can include a bandana or a scarf and can be laundered or washed by hand. To wash by hand, make a simple bleach solution consisting of 4 teaspoons of bleach per quart of room temperature water. The CDC recommends, “Check the label to see if your bleach is intended for disinfection. Ensure the bleach is not past expiration. Never mix household bleach with ammonia or any other cleaner.”

To dry, simply tumble in the dryer. This will help sanitize your mask by eliminating any residual toxins, bacteria or dirt and grim. Finally, when you are not wearing or washing your mask, make sure to store it in a clean, dry place. A good tip can be to keep one mask in your car at-all-times, and another one in the house.

Lastly, wearing a mask is only a portion of doing your part to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Proper hand washing and proper social distancing is the best way to prevent contracting or spreading the coronavirus. 

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The holiday season brings so much joy and cheerful spirits to most of us, it also brings along an additional large amount of waste. Did you know that we send 25% more trash to landfills during the holiday season than any other time of the year in the United States? It means an increase of 25 million tons of extra waste. Here are some green tips for less wasteful and more eco-friendly celebrations this year.

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If you buy gifts, consider these sustainable gifting ideas below: 

• Homemade gifts – Bake your favorite cookie recipe or handmake a holiday wreath is a lovely way to show love with your personal touch. 
• Gift experiences – A range of virtual classes, subscription boxes, and fun activity tickets. These ideas are two gifts in one: the gift of experience and the gift of unforgettable memories. 
• Buy reusable gifts – Thinking reusable is another sustainable way to gift. We all should own one of these: thermos flask, coffee mug and refillable hand sanitizer bottle, canvas tote bag, lunch pails, napkins, etc. 
• Shop locally – Buy a voucher at a local restaurant or get a subscription box at a local farmers market. Environmental benefits from buying locally are reducing your carbon footprint, protecting local land and wildlife, and supporting the local workforce. 

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When it comes to wrapping presents, repurposing can save a significant amount of waste. Look for items like the backside of your calendars, newspapers, magazines, or even old scarves to reuse. If you have to buy wrapping paper, opt for recycled material. For large-sized gifts, draw the item on a piece of paper or print it out and put it in a smaller box to save some wrapping paper and space under your tree. Check out more zero-waste gift wrapping at inhabitat.com/10-ideas-for-zero-waste-gift-wrapping/. 

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Putting up Christmas trees is a classic holiday tradition that many of us can't skip. Consider buying an organic potted tree instead of a cut tree. That way, you can still enjoy the festive decorations and its delightful smell while able to reuse the tree for next year or donate it to a local farm or nursery. If you have allergies, check out ideas on sustainable tree alternatives at organicauthority.com/live-grow/10-sustainable-christmas-tree-alternatives-for-the-holidays. 

CLICK HERE to view a press release regarding Treated Wood Waste (TWW)