Are Food-Containers Able To Be Recycled?

First - confession time:  To know me, you wouldn't think that I am the most "green" person around.  While I don't condone burning Styrofoam and recklessly damaging our environment for no reason, I also believe that we can't save every tree and that modern progress often demands a trade-off in regards to our natural resources.

So it might surprise a lot of people that I recycle religiously.  In fact, I recycle so much that a few years back I called my pick-up company to request a bigger container.  At first they hesitated, but I have proven my need by filling it to the brim in each pickup cycle since then.  For some reason, I take the process of recycling to heart and try to find a way to recycle just about everything I can.

One of the issues that comes up from time to time in my house is what to do with food-related recyclables.  I like to cook - so a lot of what I recycle has its origins as a food container.  Plastic and glass jars and bottles.  Paper boxes.  Tin cans.  Most of what I encounter has an easy answer:  Clean it, separate the paper from the glass, plastic, or tin - and throw it in the recycle bin.  But what about items like pizza boxes?  Messy jars?

I recently came across this article from one of my monthly-read publications. The topic hits home and answers a lot of questions about food-related recyclables.  If you cook and you recycle - it's a good read.