Tins and cans

How to recycle

Food tins and drinks cans are made of metal, which is widely recycled. Here’s some tips for recycling:

  • Empty and rinse – left over food and liquid can end up ruining your recycling
  • Leave labels on – they’ll come off during the recycling process
  • Leave metal lids on glass containers (e.g. metal jam jar lids) These are made from a different type of metal to cans, tins and aerosols, so they’re recycled in a different way. By keeping these lids on glass jars and bottles, you’ll help reduce the risk of them getting lost during the sorting process
Variety of tins and cans

A quick guide to metal recycling

You can recycle

  • Drink Cans
  • Food tins (Pop tin lids inside the tin)
  • Aerosols (Remove plastic caps and recycle with plastics)
  • Aluminium foil – Scrunch together to form a ball
  • Aluminium trays
  • Aluminium tubes (e.g. tomato puree) – Remove plastic lids

You can’t recycle

  • Laminated foil (e.g. cat food/coffee pouches that spring back when you try and scrunch them)
  • Crisp packets and sweet wrappers
  • Metal containers for chemicals (i.e. white spirits, paints or engine oils) – recycle these at a recycling centre
  • General kitchenware – recycle these at a recycling centre
  • Any other metal items (e.g. kettles, irons, pipes, white goods) – recycle these at a recycling centre

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