After the holiday season I can often feel like I’m in an overconsumption hangover. And I’m not talking about just food and drink, I often find myself overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in my apartment, the amount of leftovers in my fridge and the amount of trash, recycling, and compost trying to fit into bins. While in a fit of puzzling too much recycling into a much too small bin, it struck me that I’m likely not alone in wondering where all these cans actually end up. As someone who tries to reduce my plastic packaging I often opt for canned goods because I believe they can be recycled more easily and I know they won’t go to waste if I don’t use them right away, but I seldom think far beyond that.So, driven by a desire break down the black box of can recycling for all of you, and my own personal obsession with cans, I’ve ventured down a research rabbit holes and come out the other side with some simple takeaways, clear explanations, and helpful tips to make the most of your recycling pursuits!

Local, local, local.

When it comes to recycling guidelines, always check with your local municipality or recycling company. Are you really a tree-hugging earth-lover if you haven’t made a call to ask about recycling rules?! Okay but actually, it really is worth doing some research. As someone who is always trying to do my best for the planet, I used to put everything that even resembled paper or plastic in the recycling bin, which is exactly what you shouldn’t do. Often, if non-recyclable materials are in the mix, they can ruin the whole batch of recycling or damage the processing machines. So, unfortunately, when in doubt, throw it out!

**When it comes to cans, most soda and soup cans are very recyclable.**

In fact, in our current global recycling economy (which is a hot-mess like most everything else), steel and aluminum cans are some of the most efficiently recycled materials in our home.

To clarify: aluminum cans are the cans that we most often see carrying your sodas, beers, etc. Aluminium is highly profitable to recycle, which is why you can get a deposit back on aluminum cans in most states. “Tin” cans are the cans that soups, beans, and other vegetables come in and are usually a steel can coated in a layer of tin.

Resin codes on plastic. From Polychem USA.

The most important thing to look for when determining if your can is recyclable is if it contains the plastic, BPA. While most cans are not coated with BPA on the inside due to the known negative health effects of the chemical, it is still a legal alternative to the standard tin coating. This coating is known for maintaining the freshness of the canned good for even longer than it’s tin counterpart, but it makes the cans unrecyclable. Cans that use BPA coating will be marked with a resin code #7. Resin codes can be confusing because it might look like it can be recycled (it has a recycling symbol on it!), but the code actually means “other” and is the category for all the messy things that don’t fit neatly into our recycling system. Key takeaway? Opt for cans labeled “BPA Free” or that say “100% recyclable” on them.

Careful with those lids!

Watch out for your fingers...and for your recycling machines! Most of the time when a municipality says they don’t accept the lids on cans and bottles, it’s just because those smaller bits of metal and plastic can jam up their machines, not because they aren’t recyclable. To this end, the best way to recycle your can lids is actually to put them back into your can and then give it a little squeeze so the lid doesn’t come out. Then the lid can ride along to the recycling center with the rest of the can and not fall out. The whole thing will be stripped down later, but this ensures the lids won’t go rogue and get lost in the machines.

Make sure it’s squeaky clean!

Again, be careful with sharp edges, but making sure your metal (and plastics too!) are clean before recycling is really important. Oils and food residue can make recycling things a total mess and often can result in your material never getting recycled at all. While it may seem like this introduces more water and energy into the recycling process, it’s either that or the landfill, so make sure your products are clean!

Want extra brownie points? Take the labels off.

Okay so this isn’t required, but if your local municipality also recycles glossy paper, you can remove the paper labels from your cans before recycling them so that the paper can be recycled separately. What happens if you don’t? The paper and glue will burn off quickly in the beginning of the recycling process for the metal and the can will still be recycled.

Metal markets are looking good

According to Recycling Today (that is a real publication), the market for scrap metal is actually growing around the globe due to coronavirus impacts on industries like construction and auto manufacturing. This is good for our steel and tin cans in the recycling bin, because unfortunately, the market for recyclables plays a huge role in the viability of recycling in the United States. This can be exemplified by Trump’s term in office, during which time a “trade war” with China meant that sending recyclables to China was no longer profitable. While it’s hard to believe, the US actually has very limited recycling capacity for most products and relies on global markets to recycle our waste for us. Many of the tariffs put on by China are slowing down, but it is important to consider how global our recycling market is, even if the rules for recycling remain hyper local.

Key Takeaways

Recycling is confusing, and we’ve all likely had our share of recycling confusion in the past. According to the EPA, of the 267.8 million tons of municipal solid waste generated by Americans in 2017, only 94.2 million tons were recycled or composted. Single-stream recycling, where all recyclables are placed into the same bin, has made recycling easier for consumers, but results in about one-quarter of the material being contaminated (remember those #7 plastics from earlier?). There are organizations like How2Recycle and the Sustainable Package Coalition working to make recycling and packaging more sustainable and clear for everyone at all levels of the food system.

When it comes down to it, most things are “recyclable,” but there are limitations. Paper can be recycled five to seven times before it’s too degraded to be made into “new” paper, and plastic can only be recycled once or twice—and usually not into a new food container—since the polymers break down in the recycling process. Luckily for those of us obsessed with canned goods, glass and metal can be recycled indefinitely, but do require some input of energy to do so.

Still, the best thing you can do for the environment can often be to reduce packaging all together. One of our earliest articles was a piece about how buying dried beans could be better for the planet because they would require less energy to transport due to their weight. This is still true, and if you are able to find beans in the bulk section of the grocery store, you can buy them without any single use packaging at all. So, when it comes to canned goods, we can pretty safely say they are much better than their plastic counterparts, but it doesn’t mean they’re the best option available. Comparatively however, canning reduces huge amounts of food waste from overproduction at the farm level, and can be a wonderful way to have vegetables on hand year round. According to the Steel Recycling Institute, steel recycling in the United States saves the energy equivalent to electrical power for about one-fifth of American households for one year. So buy that can of beans, make that chili, and know that when it comes to protein choices, you’re making a pretty great one.

Sources:

Breaking Down Recycling: Cans