Most take-away containers are recyclable, but whether you can throw them in the recycling bin depends on what they are made of, what materials the local recycler accepts, and whether they are soiled by food waste such as grease and cheese .

Generally speaking, clean and dry cardboard, paper, aluminum, and plastic containers are recyclable throughout the United States-but before throwing them in the trash, check the containers carefully for recycling signs. 

Chinese food delivery is usually packed in oyster buckets, also known as paper buckets. It is a folded cardboard box coated with plastic, usually polyethylene. The coating prevents your food from leaking and sticking to the cardboard, but it makes these containers difficult to recycle.

Some municipalities have the ability to recycle these containers as long as they are free of food waste and have been washed, so please check your local recycling rules to determine the next steps. However, in most cases, these food containers are trash cans.

If you take a salad or sandwich with you, you will most likely put it in a plastic takeaway container. Most plastic food containers are made of low-density polyethylene or polypropylene thermoplastics. They can be easily melted and molded into new shapes, making them recyclable and accepted by most household recycling programs in the United States.

To prevent food waste or sticky residue from interfering with the recycling machine, you should rinse, clean and shake dry the plastic takeaway container before putting it in the recycling bin.

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) food containers-commonly called styrofoam food containers-are good insulators to keep soups boiling hot and milkshakes cool. Restaurant owners like them because they can be purchased in bulk and there are many sizes to choose from. Unfortunately, EPS is a petroleum-based product, which is known to be harmful to the environment in many ways—for example, its production releases harmful pollutants into the air. When these foam containers end up in a landfill, they can leach harmful chemicals and contaminate soil and water.

Although containers made of this material may bear the number 6 recycling symbol, there are not many facilities for processing them. Some professional recyclers may accept EPS, but you must conduct research. Use online tools to find a recycler near you.

Although made of widely recyclable materials, the plastic straws you use in smoothies or iced coffee are not recyclable. Plastic straws are too light to be sorted correctly by recycling machines, which poses a major challenge for recycling. The curbside recycling program does not accept plastic straws, so they end up in landfills or, worse, into the environment. 

If paper containers and wrapping paper are free of grease and other food contamination, the municipal recycling program may accept them. Paper that is not in direct contact with food can be placed in the recycling bin.

Like paper takeaway containers, cardboard food containers can be recycled as long as they are not contaminated by food waste. Things like cheese and grease can disrupt the sorting process and damage the recycling machine, often destroying the entire batch. 

Note cardboard food containers with a waxy coating, which is usually made of polyethylene. Retailers usually use wax cardboard to package prepared foods because the wax layer prevents leakage and wetting. However, the wax coating makes the boxes difficult to recycle, and many recyclers will not accept them.

Please consult your municipality or search for wax cardboard recycling programs near you to determine your choice.

The wax coating inside the paper cup ensures that your drink will not leak or taste like paper, but it also makes it non-recyclable because recycling machines cannot easily separate the two materials. The lining is made of fossil plastic, such as polystyrene or polypropylene, but it can also be made of pure wax.

Cafes use wax paper cups to serve coffee. Although you cannot recycle your waxed paper cups, if it is made of bio-based polylactic acid, you can compost it. Otherwise, your most environmentally friendly option is to bring your own reusable cup when drinking coffee in the morning.

Browsing the freezer section of the grocery store, you will find that most ice cream boxes are made of the same material. The base material is cardboard, but it is not just ordinary cardboard—the ice cream container is made of wet-strength cardboard. The wet-strength cardboard includes a plastic polyethylene lining to ensure that it can withstand extremely cold temperatures. 

Packaging with plastic linings is generally not recyclable because the coating makes it difficult to process. However, some regions do accept ice cream cartons in the curbside recycling program. It changes a lot. For example, Seattle accepts them, but Portland does not. 

Please consult your city to see if you can throw ice cream containers in the trash. If possible, make sure your container is empty and free of food waste before recycling. If you recycle a carton with ice cream in it, it will contaminate your other recyclable items.

Just like Chinese take-out containers, the inside of juice boxes is coated with a thin layer of plastic, even though they look like they are made of cardboard. But in reality, they are made up of multiple materials laminated together, including paper, polyethylene plastic, and aluminum. 

Individually, these components are recyclable. But when they are crushed together like in a juice box, it is difficult to separate them. Therefore, most juice boxes should be thrown into the trash can because they are not easy to recycle. However, you can find specific juice box recycling programs through professional recyclers such as TerraCyle.

Aluminum foil food containers are made of aluminum, and almost all roadside pickup recycling programs in the United States accept this material. But to prevent contamination, make sure to rinse them and remove excess food waste before recycling them.

Food packaging is an environmental issue. It is usually made of non-biodegradable materials that are difficult to recycle. But environmentally conscious developers have made progress in creating biodegradable packaging that can be composted. And some raw materials are already suitable for composting.

Usually, you can compost paper or cardboard take-out packaging soiled by food. Some food retailers also use compostable cups and tableware. To determine if the package is compostable, check the label or symbol. Compostable materials are labeled "compostable" or "PLA". PLA is a compostable bioplastic that will decompose naturally in the compost pile.

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