Recyclepedia | Can I recycle aerosol spray cans?


Empty aerosol cans, like the type used for spray paint, hair spray, shaving cream and Pam cooking spray.

Can I recycle aerosol spray cans?

Empty aerosol spray cans from paint, hair spray, shaving cream and cooking spray can be recycled in most local recycling programs. Aerosol spray cans that are full or partly full must be dropped off at a hazardous waste location.

Need specific information for where you live?

Wondering about recycling instructions for items in your municipality? Use our Find My Municipality tool below and learn recycling information specific to your municipality.

Find my Municipality

What is Recycle Coach?

Recycle education in schools

Recycling at school is one thing, but what happens when students go home? They might live in an apartment building, where recycling rules are different. Or they might be the only English speaker in the household, with the adults relying on them for recycling best practices.

How can we better prepare our students to do the right thing at home?

Education is essential. We believe recycling needs to be part of a school’s curriculum, not just staff training. Otherwise, municipalities will continue to face high contamination costs resulting from inadequate (or non-existent) in-home recycling practices.

And that’s the challenge we aim to tackle with Recycling Education in Schools, a pilot program to teach students in grades 3-5 about recycling at home. It’s curriculum-based and includes five valuable hours of teacher-led instruction each year. Most importantly, it helps municipalities foster sustainable households and communities by giving students what they need to be the at-home recycling experts.

Recycling on Campus

Leaving home for the first time can be both exciting and stressful. Taking responsibility for their own recycling is new ecperince of many students, whether they live in a student residence or off campus. We work with universities and colleges to help smooth this transition to adulthood.

Recycling at Work

Most offices and lunchrooms have a recycling problem. Recycling bins containing straws and leftover food is just the tip of the iceberg. Something needs to change.

Our mission is to make workplace recycling viable again, both for employers and employees. Trough our highly engaging and coparehensive recycling education program, employers across the country are prioritizing envoironmental custodianship without cutting into the bottom line. So, talk to your sustainability administrator and tell them about Recycle Coach at Work!