New Eco-Friendly Pizza Box -- GreenBox -- Offers Plates with the Pie

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Oct 20th 2009 @ 4:00PM

Photo: GreenBox.

Leftover pizza is all good and well -- until you realize there's no room in the fridge for a bulky box that accommodates but a couple measly slices. But eco-friendly GreenBox has revolutionized the container, in a version that condenses into smaller sizes, breaks off into individual serving plates, and, best of all, is made from 100-percent recycled paper.

William Walsh, 38, came up with the idea back in his college football years. Fitted in a body cast after having broken his femur, he and his friends were watching the game one Sunday when a friend dripped pizza grease down his shirt. In typical college fashion, Walsh and his roommates "would basically use disposable plates since no one would wash the dishes," he says. "There was a pizza box on the table and I ripped it up and threw everyone in the room a plate. The room got really quiet and my friends were like, 'You need to do something with this!' "

But his brainchild was to be put on the back burner for nearly two decades after college. After working at Sikorsky Aircraft and as the vice president of package engineering for Elizabeth Arden, Walsh moved to California where, at a friend's, he once again experienced the same more-pizza-than-plates dilemma.

Finally called to action, Walsh says he "went to a pizza restaurant, bought boxes and stayed in my apartment in Newport Beach [Calif.] for three days. My girlfriend thought I was crazy but I wouldn't leave until I figured it out."

After Walsh came up with a few designs, the best became the blueprint for GreenBox. When broken up along the perforations, the lid tears off into four individual plates, while the bottom can be folded to house leftovers. The product was patented in September 2006 and Walsh formed a company with two friends in December 2007.

The green organization aims to revolutionize the food-packaging industry with eco-friendly, innovative packaging solutions. GreenBox produces varieties of five different sizes and has four patents pending -- including containers for coffee, doughnuts and wings. They currently have five total distributors -- including an international distributor in Quebec, Canada -- and are working to gain nationwide distribution.

Filed Under: Food News, Fast Food, New Products
Tags: eco-friendly, green pizza box, greenbox, GreenPizzaBox, pizza box, pizza boxes, PizzaBox, PizzaBoxes, takeout containers, TakeoutContainers, william walsh, WilliamWalsh

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-20-2009 @6:50PM Ana said... This is so smart!
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10-21-2009 @12:55AM Mark Ballard said... Wow, a box that converts into pizza plates. Cool, smart. You have a great blog layout and excellent concise posts.
I found you doing a "Fast Food Blog" search on google (if you wonder how some people find your site). I started a "review" blog about 12 days ago that reviews food and other things, so I was checking out other formats and functionalities. If you want to see it: http://humorousreview.wordpress.com.

Keep up your great work. Easy to scan and read. Thx for the info (I do love pizza).
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10-21-2009 @10:33AM Astin said... In November 2007, Chris Holden and Rob Tulk presented a very similar idea on the show Dragon's Den (the original, Canadian version of Shark Tank in the States). They were turned down by the head of Boston Pizza (and subsequently by the rest) for some nebulous concerns about cost. They go by Pizza Box 2000 (http://www.pizzabox2000.com/). There are others with similar ideas. Hardly a new concept. But it's apparently been difficult to break into the pizza box business. Lots of established contracts out there. But eventually, this thing WILL get picked up by someone it seems.
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