Is aluminum foil recyclable?Aluminum is one of the highest-value materials you can recycle, and it can be reprocessed into new aluminum in just 60 days.Aluminum is used for more than foil aluminum, of course. Cans, cars, even my laptop is made of aluminum. Aluminum compounds are used as catalysts in chemical reactions to make elemental sulfur and various hydrocarbons, which can be starting materials for making plastics, medicines, fertilizers, rubber products and more.
Aluminum foil thickness is made from the same material as soda cans (aluminum), but since it’s most often contaminated with food waste or combined with plastic (like with yogurt tops), there’s no guarantee you can recycle it with your aluminum cans.
Aluminum Foil Recycling Preparation,How to recycle aluminum foil?
You want to make sure that aluminum foil is as clean as possible before recycling. While burns and holes won’t affect the recycling market, you’ll want to remove any meats or sauces from the foil.
If you’re recycling aluminum foil that you bought and used for storage, separate the foil from the paperboard box and corrugated tube before recycling.
If foil is combined with other materials (such as in drink boxes, candy wrappers and yogurt tops) and can’t be separated, you’ll want to throw it away. Foil mixed with other materials is considered recycling contamination.
Combine all sheets of thick aluminum foil into one ball. This will keep the material easily separated from other products, and also prevent it from blowing away (aluminum foil is a very light material).
Your first step is to make sure your aluminum foil is devoid of food waste. You can rinse off small bits of food, like cookie crumbs and fruit or vegetable juice. The foil may discolor if you use hot water, but that is totally normal. If the foil is very heavily soiled with oily or greasy foods like meat, frosting, gravy or butter, it will need to go in the trash.
Your second step is to determine if your curbside recycling program accepts aluminum foil. you will need to find another way to recycle your aluminum foil. Before placing any foil in your recycling bin, crumple it into a ball so it will not get torn or stuck in the recycling machinery. Do not take each individual piece and ball it up so that you have several tiny spheres. Instead, save up your aluminum foil and make a ball that is at least two inches in diameter. And again, make sure it is clean before you place it in your recycling bin. Keep in mind that several food products come with aluminum foil pan attached. Many yogurt containers have aluminum foil over the lids. K-cups also have aluminum foil lids. If you can recycle sheets of aluminum foil, chances are high you can recycle these items as well. Check with your recycling company to see if they can take other types of clean aluminum food storage products, like pie pans and turkey roasters, too. I reuse my clean aluminum foil whenever possible.