Recycling Metal Food and Beverage Containers

Did you know steel is recyclable? Steel can be recycled over and over. This makes its recycling process different from plastic or paper.

Recycling Metal: Steel

Soup cans, tomato cans, cat food, coconut milk, tuna, jar lids, etc. Most cans are made of steel. Steel is very recyclable.

Steel is easier to separate if it is added to a single stream bin using magnets. You can put your steel containers in the recycling bin. Let us take a look at the steel recycling process.

First, clean the steel cans. Food particles can contaminate recycling material. Contamination is one reason China has rejected our recycling over the last several years.

You do not need to worry about the paper on the cans. The paper will be burned off during the recycling process.

Recycling Metal: Aluminum

In addition, soda and beverage cans are mostly aluminum. Aluminum is even more recyclable than steel. Recycling aluminum is a simple process.

First, lightly rinse the aluminum cans. Then, drain the cans’ contents. Next, throw the aluminum cans in the recycling bin.

Aluminum foil should be reused whenever possible. You can wad it up to the size of a tennis ball or larger. Otherwise, it might not make it where it needs to go.

The Importance of Recycling

As a rule of thumb, almost all food and beverages you buy in metal containers are recyclable.

The recycling process for metals is more eco-friendly than mining and producing metal from scratch. It uses a lot less energy and creates less pollution.

However, it still causes pollution and uses energy. It is important to keep this in mind when making purchasing decisions.

We can all agree that recycling is very important. Let REDUCE be your mantra, REUSE your alternative, and RECYCLE the rest. These simple principles can help make our world a better place.

Pledge to bring your own reusable container to pack leftovers and start making a difference today!

Written by Brooke Loening