Metal recycling: cans, tins and the value of aluminium

If you want to recycle something genuinely valuable, look in your kitchen bin for cans and tins. Metals are among the most valuable recyclables, and aluminium in particular is a recycling superstar. Here's why metal recycling matters so much and how to make the most of it.

Why metals are so valuable to recycle

Metals have a standout property: they can be recycled over and over without losing quality, and recycling them uses dramatically less energy than producing new metal from ore.

• Aluminium recycling uses a small fraction of the energy needed to make new aluminium from bauxite — one of the biggest energy savings in all of recycling.
• Steel is the most recycled material in the world by volume and is endlessly recyclable.

This combination of infinite recyclability and huge energy savings makes metal recycling both environmentally and economically compelling.

The two main household metals

Aluminium cans

Beverage cans are made of aluminium — light, but high-value. Because recycling aluminium saves so much energy, used cans command strong prices relative to their weight. A bag of crushed cans is well worth bringing to buyback.

Steel/tin cans

Food cans are mostly steel (sometimes with a thin tin coating). They're reliably recyclable and, while lower-value per kilogram than aluminium, they're heavier so they add up.

How to tell them apart

A simple magnet test: steel is magnetic, aluminium is not. Beverage cans (aluminium) won't stick to a magnet; food cans (steel) will. This helps you sort them — and recyclers use magnets at scale to separate the two.

How metal recycling works

1. Collection. Cans and tins are gathered through buyback, collectors and drop-offs.
2. Sorting. Magnets separate steel from aluminium; other metals are sorted too.
3. Cleaning and shredding. Material is cleaned and shredded.
4. Melting. Metal is melted in furnaces.
5. Casting. Molten metal is cast into ingots or sheets to make new products — new cans, car parts, building materials and more.

How to prepare metals

• Empty and rinse cans and tins to remove food and residue.
• Crush aluminium cans to save space (you can carry far more).
• Keep aluminium and steel separate where possible for the best value.
• Remove paper labels from tins where easy.
• Don't include aerosol cans with contents, paint tins, or hazardous-material containers.

Beyond cans

While cans and tins are the everyday metals, the broader scrap metal trade also recovers items like old appliances, pipes, wire and other metal goods. These have value too and should be recycled rather than dumped — though they're usually handled through scrap dealers rather than household buyback.

The energy story

It's worth dwelling on the energy savings, because they're remarkable. Recycling aluminium can save up to around 95% of the energy needed to make it from raw ore. That means every can you recycle isn't just saving material — it's avoiding a large chunk of energy and the emissions that go with it. Few everyday actions deliver such a clear environmental return.

Small item, big value

Cans and tins are easy to overlook, but they're some of the most valuable and impactful things you can recycle. They recycle infinitely, save enormous energy, and earn good value at buyback — especially aluminium. So rinse those cans, crush the aluminium ones, keep your metals sorted, and bring them in.

To turn your cans and tins into cash, find your nearest WasteGo Green buyback point.