Aluminum foil recycling tricks? Aluminum Recycling Helps Local Communities: Every year, the aluminum industry pays out close to a billion dollars for recycled aluminum cans — money that can go to support organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, as well as local schools and churches that sponsor can drive or ongoing aluminum recycling programs. How to Increase Aluminum Recycling: One simple and effective way to increase aluminum recycling is for governments to require consumers to pay a refundable deposit on all beverage containers sold in their jurisdictions. U.S. states that have container deposit laws (or “bottle bills”) recycle between 75% and 95% of all aluminum cans sold. States without deposit laws only recycle about 35% of their aluminum cans.

How to recycle aluminum foil? 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. If you live in Austin, Raleigh or Washington, D.C., you can place clean aluminum foil in your recycling bin.

Foil 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. 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. See additional information on can i recycle aluminum foil.

While most recycled aluminum is in the form of cans, aluminum foil is technically recyclable, but there’s a catch: It needs to be clean — that is, free of food residue, as grease or food residue can contaminate the other recyclables during the recycling process. In part because of the issues with contamination, and the reality that most people are unlikely to rinse their aluminum foil before recycling it, some waste haulers will not accept aluminum foil for recycling; the damage soiled aluminum foil does to other recyclables can outweigh the benefit of trying to recycle the aluminum foil.

Aluminum is commonly used in packaging. In fact, this ubiquitous material comprises 99 percent of all beer cans and 97 percent of all soft drink cans. These containers contribute to the 3.4 million tons of aluminum that enter the municipal solid waste stream every year. Fortunately, aluminum is easy to recycle and a beverage can might even find a new life as an aircraft or automotive part. Recycling aluminum also offers several other benefits. Read additional details on https://www.ablison.com/how-to-recycle-aluminum-foil-and-is-it-biodegradable/.