Photo: GreenBox.
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.
10 More Dirty Restaurant Tricks
5 Things You Didn't Know About Turducken
10 Catchiest Food Jingles We Love to Hate
