Information About:
Steel Food Cans/Tin Cans
Food and beverages like tuna and soup are packaged in steel food cans with a thin layer of tin or plastic to prevent rust and maintain flavors.
Preparation:
- Rinse. You do not have to remove labels.
- Flattening cans is helpful since it reduces the volume but is not required.
- Combine with other recyclables in your cart.
- Do not place steel food cans/tin cans in plastic bags.
Flexible pie tins, if wiped/washed free of food debris can be recycled with other metal cans.
Do not recycle these items: Any steel cans that contained paint, chemicals or other non-food materials.
Why recycle steel food cans/tin cans?- Seven million pounds of rebar from Gerdau Ameristeel, South St Paul, MN went into the rebuilding of the I-35W bridge.
- Every year, America throws away enough steel to reconstruct all buildings in Manhattan.
- The energy saved from recycling 1 pound of steel will light a 60 watt bulb for 26 hours.
What are steel food cans made into?
The recycling process called “detinning” separates the tin and steel so the 2 metals are recovered for reuse. The 2 by-products, high grade steel pellets and tin ingots, are both remade into tinplate containers. Most steel cans are used to make new cans for food products, paint, aerosol and other materials.
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