Did you know?
Recycle two extra cans and you save enough energy to run a computer for up to 12 hours.
What happens to metals that we recycle
It can be used to make cans, electrical goods or even a bus. The possibilities are endless!
The empty can you recycle today can be on the supermarket shelf again in 60 days!
- From your household recycling collection it is taken to a reprocessing site.
- The latest technology is used to separate the aluminium and steel, which is then baled.
- These are then melted down, cast into ingots and sent to manufacturers.
- The metals are then used to make everyday items, such as:
- cameras;
- irons;
- kettles;
- also, more food tins and cans.
This is why it is so important to do your bit. Every piece of metal packaging you recycle will be used again and again for years to come. Every time it is recycled we save energy, cut emissions and reduce waste/costs.
Why you should recycle your metals
It uses a lot less energy to recycle metals than to create them from raw materials. Best of all, it does not take a lot to make a big difference.
Just pop them into your white sack every week, not the wheelie bin. It is that easy!
What to do with tins, cans and foil
Place these in your white sack along with your plastic items:
- Drink cans, such as those used for soft drinks (pop) and beer.
- Tins, such as those used for baked beans, soup, fish and pet food.
- Foil and foil trays (clean).
- Empty aerosols, such as deodorant and hairspray.
- Metal lids from jars and bottles.
- Sweet and biscuit tins.
Please note: You do not need to remove any labels.
- Give them a quick rinse.
- Pop any lids inside the cans then squash them.
- Put them in your white sack and seal that with the Velcro fastening to keep them secure.
Every week you can also recycle small electrical items. Just put them in your black box.
For more about recycling in Calderdale, see: What to put in your bins, bags and boxes.
If you need a recycling box, sack or roll of food bags, please see: Request waste or recycling containers.
Use your Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC)
Some metal household items cannot be collected with your kerbside recycling, such as:
- Garden tools.
- Pots and pans.
- Nuts and bolts.
- Door handles.
- Bikes
- Electrical items.
These items can still be recycled! Take them to the metal skips at your nearest HWRC.
Videos on YouTube
Metal packaging recycling: Canny facts
Food and drink cans
- 15 billion cans are sold in the UK every year. That is 246 cans per person living in the UK. (Source: Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association.)
- The average household uses 600 food cans and 380 drinks cans each year. These can be recycled over and over again into any type of metal product. This can be things like:
- paperclips;
- car engine parts;
- iron;
- washing machines;
- or another food or drinks cans!
- The drinks can is the world's most recycled packaging container and can be back on sale in just 60 days.
Foil trays
- An estimated 16,000 tonnes of foil containers are used each year for packaging products like:
- ready meals;
- pies/quiches;
- and takeaways.
- The average household uses 182 foil trays each year.
Household Foil
In the UK:
- We use an average of 12 metres of household foil per month.
- 57 million packs are bought each year.
- We use over 425,000 miles of foil every year, which will take you around the world 17 times!
Aerosols
- 650 million aerosols are used in the UK every year.
- Over half are used in 'personal care' products, such as deodorants, body sprays and hair/shaving products.
- The average household uses 27 aerosols each year.
- That is 10 per person per year.
(Source: BAMA.)
Aluminium and steel recycling
- A tonne of steel saves 1.5 tonnes of iron ore and reduces CO2 emissions by 80%. This is compared to the metal being made from raw materials.
- A tonne of aluminium saves 9 tonnes of C02 emissions and 4 tonnes of bauxite.
- Bauxite is the raw material that aluminium is made from.
- 1 tonne of CO₂ is the same as if you drive nearly 3,000 miles.
Aluminium and steel can be recycled endlessly, without losing quality. It can take just eight weeks for a drink can to be recycled and back on the supermarket shelf.
Save energy and natural resources, and cut greenhouse gas emissions
If we recycle:
- A tonne of steel, it saves 1.5 tonnes of iron ore and reduces CO2 emissions by 80%.
- Cans, it saves up to 95% of the energy needed to make both aluminium and steel cans from raw materials.
Making aluminium cans from recycled metal is 20 times more energy efficient than using 'primary' (made from raw materials) metal.
For more information:
- See: Recycling.
- Visit: Recycle Now.