Skip to main content
  • About us
  • Events
  • News
  • Partners
  • FAQs

Search form

Main menu

  • Home
  • What to do with...
    • Popular items
    • Aerosols
    • Batteries
    • Clothing & textiles
    • Electrical items
    • Face coverings (masks) and PPE
    • Mobile phones
    • Plastic film & carrier bags
    • All items
  • Local recycling
  • Recycling knowledge
    • Getting started
    • How is it recycled?
    • Recycling around your home
    • Recycling from the bathroom
    • Food recycling
    • Recycling symbols explained
    • Facts and info
    • Northern Ireland
    • Recycle Week campaign
  • Reduce waste
    • 5 easy steps to reduce waste
    • Buying habits
    • Repair and re-use
    • Packaging and storage
    • Donate, sell and swap
    • Junk mail
    • Composting

What to do with

Food tins & drink cans

How to recycle metal packaging such as cans, tins and foil
Metal packaging is widely recycled. To check whether you can put cans, tins and foil into you home recycling enter your postcode below.
Enter your postcode to find out

Which metal items can be recycled?

Yes pleaseNo thanks
Drink cansLaminated foil, e.g. cat food/coffee pouches that spring back when you try and scrunch them
Food tins (put tin lids inside the tin)Crisp packets and sweet wrappers
Biscuit/chocolate tins and their lidsMetal containers for chemicals, i.e. white spirits, paints or engine oils
Aerosols (remove plastic caps and recycle with plastics)General kitchen ware, e.g. cutlery, pots and pans
Aluminium foil, e.g. for baking, covering food - scrunch foil together to form a ballAny other metal items, e.g. kettles, irons, pipes, white goods
Aluminium foil trays, e.g. take-away trays
Aluminium tubes, e.g. tomato puree - remove plastic caps
  • Empty and rinse items - left over foods or liquids can contaminate other recyclables.
  • You can leave labels on - these are removed in the recycling process.
  • Metal lids and caps on glass containers, e.g. metal jam jar lids, can be left on to recycle with glass. These are different types of metal to cans/tins/aerosols and are recycled in a different way. By putting the lids/caps back on glass jars and bottles it reduces the chance of them getting lost through the sorting process.
  • The plastic ring joiners that come with multi-packs of drinks cans can be recycled together with plastic film and carrier bags at collection points of larger supermarkets.
Tips for recycling metal packaging

Cans - how are they recycled?

Did you know that one in every three drinks cans sold in the UK are drunk away from home? The metal these cans are made from is endlessly recyclable, so it’s important that it is saved rather than thrown away. Especially when you consider that each can could be recycled and be back on sale as another can – in just 60 days.
Metal from cans is endlessly recyclable!

Every Can Counts

To help us recycle our drinks cans wherever we are - whether at work, at college, at an event or festival or simply out and about - the Every Can Counts campaign is working hard with a range of organisations to provide drinks can recycling facilities.

What to do with...

  • Popular items
  • Aerosols
  • Batteries
  • Clothing & textiles
  • Electrical items
  • Face coverings (masks) and PPE
  • Mobile phones
  • Plastic film & carrier bags
  • All items

Related content


Find out how to recycle:

  • Foil and aluminium trays
  • Food and drink cartons
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Plastic bottles
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Register for useful recycling news and tips delivered straight to your inbox

Around the UK

  • Recycle Now
  • Recycle for Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Wales Recycles
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & conditions
  • Community guidelines
  • Cookies
  • Contact

Brought to you by WRAP

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (which operates as WRAP) is a registered UK Charity No. 1159512 and registered as a Company limited by guarantee in England & Wales No. 4125764.

Registered office at Second Floor, Blenheim Court, 19 George Street, Banbury, Oxon, OX16 5BH.