Yes, I said "The Amazing Pizza Box Video." it is not a typo. Need proof that the opportunity to innovate is all around us? Check out this 45 second video from Eco Incorporated, a company who is "saving the environment one pizza box at a time."
This is such an awesome concept for so many reasons.
First is the obvious reason, it helps to reduce waste. This is a no-brainer. I have eaten thousands of pizzas in my life. While I have used an entire pizza box lid as a plate before, I never thought to perforate it and create 4 plates from it. This is just brilliant. It eliminates the need to dirty up regular plates, and the following need to wash them, and also eliminates the alternative of paper plates which cost money and create waste.
Second this idea is so simple. It makes me happy to see something that is easy to do and beneficial at the same time. It is not as if they are saying "Stop ordering pizzas to save the environment." They are asking me to help by doing less, not more.
Third, the storage idea. This is probably the most useful aspect of all. I hate to use tupperware or saran wrap to store old pizza. The method of choice is the "lazy" option of shoving the whole box, usually with only a piece or two in it, into the already crammed refrigerator. This solution saves me space and aggravation, is portable should I opt for cold pizza for breakfast in the car the next morning, and again minimizes effort and maximizes benefit.
Finally, I love that the idea is being promoted using a simple YouTube video and not a multi-million dollar ad campaign. The idea is brilliant, and it should not need a rediculously expensive advertising budget to catch on. The idea is the advertising. This seems to be a small company, and they probably don’t have a ton of cash to blow on a superbowl ad – though that may not be true for long. If I were in charge of a pizza place, I would weigh three times what I currently do and I would order these boxes immediately.
The next time you think that life is just too mundane, and that you have seen it all, remember what these guys did with the boring old pizza box.
Thanks to Dan Pink for pointing me to the video. As Dan advised, I did smack myself in the head for not thinking of this idea.
