Hey everyone, and welcome back to the weekly dose of straight talk on all things packaging from your go-to metal food cans supplier. Today’s question is one I get at least a dozen times a week: “Can metal food cans be recycled?” Let me cut through the noise and give you the real, science-backed answer—no corporate jargon, no greenwashing fluff, just what you need to know as someone who cares about reducing waste, or as a business owner picking packaging that actually delivers. Metal Food Cans
First, let’s start with the basics because I swear a lot of folks mix this up. Metal food cans—you know, the ones holding your favorite beans, tomatoes, soup, or that weirdly good canned pineapple—are almost 100% recyclable. Wait, almost? Let me clarify that right away: the only time a metal food can doesn’t recycle easily is if someone leaves a huge gunk of dried food inside it, like a thick sauce or a whole can of beans that’s stuck and crusty. Even then, it’s fixable with a quick rinse, right? Now, compare that to glass jars or plastic bottles—glass can break and contaminate loads of recycled material, and plastic has that whole “how do you tell what type it is?” headache. Metal? It’s different.
Let’s get into the science part, because I hate when people talk about recycling without explaining why metal is such a star here. Most metal food cans are made of steel (for the acidic stuff like tomatoes, it’s lined with a thin plastic coating to prevent corrosion) or aluminum (for things like soda, but wait, aluminum cans are also used for food, I should note that—think canned tuna). Both are ferrous metals (steel) and non-ferrous (aluminum), and here’s the key: metal is infinitely recyclable. That means it can be melted down and turned into a new can, or a car part, or a fridge, over and over and over, without losing any quality. None. Nada. Zero degradation.
Now, let’s put that next to other packaging materials. A plastic water bottle, for example, usually becomes a lower-quality item like a park bench once it’s recycled—you can’t turn it back into a food-grade bottle easily, and after a few cycles, it’s basically too contaminated to reuse for anything useful. Glass can be recycled forever too, but it’s heavy, and when it’s mixed with other glass colors, it ruins whole batches of new glass. Metal? Steel and aluminum are magnetic. That’s how the recycling industry sorts them—they run shredded recycled material over a giant magnet, and steel sticks, aluminum doesn’t. No guesswork, no color issues, just a super efficient sorting process that keeps contamination way lower.
Wait, but hold on—why do I see so many old cans in landfills if they’re so recyclable? Let’s be real, it’s not that the cans can’t be recycled—it’s that people don’t recycle them. Or, sometimes, municipal recycling programs just don’t accept them, which is a whole other can of worms (pun totally intended, and I’ll own it). A lot of smaller towns or rural areas have recycling programs that only take plastic #1 and #2, glass bottles, and paper—they skip metal because processing plants that handle metal are a bit more specialized, and not every region has one nearby. That’s not a failure of the can—it’s a failure of infrastructure, plain and simple.
Here’s something most people don’t know from a supplier’s perspective: when you recycle a metal can, it saves way more energy than making a new one. Let me throw a quick stat at you (I checked this with our sustainability team, so it’s solid) — recycling one ton of steel saves about 2,500 pounds of coal and 2,500 pounds of iron ore. For aluminum, it’s even crazier: recycling a single aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours. That’s not a hype stat—that’s the actual energy difference, because smelting new metal from ore is super energy-intensive. When we work with our clients, we always highlight this because it’s a tangible, real impact—using recycled metal cuts production costs too, which is a win for everyone, not just the planet.
Now, let’s bust some myths while we’re at it, because there’s some garbage info floating around online. Myth #1: Metal food cans have a plastic lining so they can’t be recycled. False. That thin plastic lining is removed during the melting process. The heat melts the plastic off, and it’s filtered out as part of the recycling process. It doesn’t contaminate the metal at all—we’re talking tons of recycled metal every month that’s used to make new cans, cars, construction steel, all kinds of stuff, because that lining is dealt with.
Myth #2: You have to remove the paper label from the can before recycling. No, you don’t. The label is just paper or thin plastic, and it’s removed during the sorting and processing stages too. Even the little metal lid? Just leave it on. I see so many people agonizing over prying lids off and rinsing every can for five minutes—skip that. A quick swish with water to get rid of the big food gunk is enough. The recycling facility will handle the rest, and they’re way better at it than we are in our kitchen sink.
Myth #3: Curbside recycling never takes metal cans. That depends on where you live. A lot of big cities (New York, LA, Chicago) accept them, most grocery stores have metal recycling bins right by the entrance, and a lot of scrap yards will pay you for a bag of empty cans if you’re into that. The key is to check your local program’s rules—don’t just assume they’ll be rejected, but also don’t throw them in the trash without even trying. I’ve had clients tell me they switched to metal cans specifically because their customers asked for something that’s easy to recycle, and that’s a huge selling point right now.
Wait, let’s talk about why as a metal food cans supplier, this matters so much to me. A few years back, we had a client who was switching their entire line from glass to metal because they were tired of glass breakage ruining their product and their supply chain. When we told them about the recyclability, they went even further—they redesigned their cans to use less material, but kept the same durability, because they knew that their audience cared about sustainability. We work with all kinds of brands: small-batch food makers, big canned goods companies, even pet food brands. Every single one comes to us with some version of “we want packaging that doesn’t just look good, but is actually good for the planet.” Metal checks that box in a way nothing else does right now.
Let’s get real about the challenges too, because I don’t want to act like metal cans are a perfect solution that fixes all waste. The biggest issue right now is contamination. Like I said earlier, that dried crusted food? If you leave a whole can of chili caked to the inside, that ruins a whole batch of recycled metal. Sorting is great, but if the metal has food residue, it can create fumes during melting or leave impurities in the final product. That’s why the quick rinse is actually important—even a little one. Another challenge is that not every region has access to metal recycling processing, which means a lot of cans get shipped cross-country to a facility, which adds a tiny carbon footprint. It’s not a big number, but it’s something we’re working on as an industry—investing in more local recycling centers so we don’t have to move material as far.
Wait, I should also mention what happens when you do recycle a metal can, just so people can wrap their heads around the cycle. Let’s say you toss an empty can of beans into the recycling bin. It gets picked up by the waste company, taken to a material recovery facility (MRF), where it gets sorted by those giant magnets I talked about. It gets crushed, shredded, baled up, and shipped to a steel mill. The mill melts it down, removes any leftover gunk or linings, pours the molten metal into big sheets, and those sheets get sent right back to packaging companies like ours. We stamp them into new cans, add the lining, the labels, the lids, and ship them to your favorite food brand, which puts your beans in them, you buy them, eat them, and recycle the can again. That’s a closed loop, baby—there’s no other packaging material that can do that with such consistency.
I hear some of you going, “But what about the weight? Metal is heavier than plastic, so shipping is worse!” Yeah, that’s a tiny downside, and we won’t pretend it’s not. But let’s do the math: even though a metal can is a bit heavier than a plastic alternative, the fact that it’s infinitely recyclable means that over its lifecycle, the emissions are way lower. Plastic, when it’s recycled, is usually only downcycled once or twice before it becomes trash, so you have to keep making new plastic forever, which means more ore drilling, more oil extraction, more emissions. Metal can stay in that loop almost indefinitely, so the only new metal you have to make is to replace any that gets lost (like, if someone throws a can in the trash instead of recycling it, or a small amount is lost during processing). The balance works out way better for the planet in the long run.
Another thing I get asked all the time: “Are aluminum cans better than steel cans for recycling?” Short answer: no, both are amazing. Aluminum has a slightly higher recycling rate in some places because people often see soda cans and think to recycle them, but steel cans actually make up a bigger portion of the metal food can market. Their sorting process is the same, their recyclability is the same—they’re both gold stars. The only real difference is that aluminum has a higher value per pound in scrap yards, so you might get a few extra cents for a bunch of tuna cans versus soup cans, but for the end consumer or the brand, it doesn’t matter at all in terms of how well they recycle.
Let’s talk about some numbers to back this up, because I hate when people just throw around “it’s recyclable” without proof. The latest data from the Steel Recycling Institute says that the U.S. recycling rate for steel food cans is around 70%. For aluminum food cans, it’s even higher—around 75%. Compare that to plastic food containers, which have a recycling rate of less than 10% in the U.S., and glass food jars at around 30%. Those numbers don’t lie. 7 out of 10 steel cans get recycled, which is way more than most other packaging types. That’s not because people love metal cans—it’s because metal cans are actually easy to recycle.
Now, I want to circle back to my role as a metal food cans supplier, because this isn’t just an academic exercise for me. I talk to food brand owners every single day who are trying to make smarter packaging choices, and the biggest hang-up I hear is that they’re worried their customers don’t care about recyclability, or that switching to metal will be too expensive. Let me be clear: most customers do care—they’re checking labels, asking about packaging, and choosing brands that prioritize sustainability. And metal is actually getting cheaper, especially now that we’re using more recycled material in production. We source most of our metal from mills that use 90%+ recycled steel and aluminum, and that costs less than using virgin material these days. It’s a win for the brand, a win for the customer, and a win for the planet.
If you’re a small business owner looking to switch your packaging, or a food brand that wants to reduce your waste footprint, let me tell you: metal food cans are one of the most underrated, underutilized sustainable packaging options out there. They’re durable, they keep food fresh for way longer than plastic or glass (no more spoiling if the can gets dented, as long as the seal is intact), and they’re way easier to recycle than 99% of other packaging you’ll find on grocery shelves.
Now, let’s get real about what’s next for metal can recycling. As an industry, we’re working on a few things: making the linings even easier to process, designing cans that use less material without sacrificing strength, and partnering with municipalities to expand recycling access in rural and underserved areas. We’re also pushing for more consumer education—reminding people that rinsing a can takes 10 seconds, and it’s the easiest way to keep that whole recycling process working.
At the end of the day, the answer to “Can metal food cans be recycled?” is a resounding yes. The only barriers are outdated infrastructure, a little bit of consumer habit, and misinformation. As someone who’s been in the metal food can business for over a decade, I can tell you that this isn’t a trend—it’s a permanent shift. More and more brands are ditching plastic and glass for metal, not just because it looks good, but because it actually delivers on its sustainability promises.
If you’re a brand owner, a retailer, or anyone looking to make a switch to more sustainable packaging, I’d love to chat. We work with all kinds of businesses, from small startups to national brands, and we can help you design a metal can solution that fits your needs, your budget, and your sustainability goals. Don’t overcomplicate this—metal is here, it’s recyclable, and it’s one of the best choices you can make for your business and the planet.
Let’s stop letting confusion about recycling hold us back. A metal food can isn’t just a container for your food—it’s a product that can be used again, and again, and again. That’s the kind of packaging we all need right now.
Canning Lids References
Steel Recycling Institute. (2024). U.S. Steel Can Recycling Rates.
Aluminum Association. (2024). Aluminum Food Can Sustainability Data.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2023). Municipal Solid Waste Recycling Rates by Material.
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