How to Recycle Tin or Steel Cans

Recycle Tin or Steel Cans
Steel, including cans commonly used for anything from coffee to soup to pet food, is one of the most recycled materials in the U.S. It is a part of many curbside and drop-off collection programs.

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Frequent Tin or Steel Can Recycling Questions

Will someone buy tin/steel cans from me?

Cash for Cans” programs usually only apply to to aluminum drink cans, not tin food cans. Steel is considered scrap metal, but unless you have very large amounts of it, it is not worth much.

Can I recycle them in my curbside recycling bin?

If you have a curbside recycling program, chances are that tin/steel cans will be accepted. Steel is the largest category of metal in the municipal waste stream, with a very high recycling rate of about 95 percent.

What is made of recycled tin/steel cans?

After steel cans are collected and recycled, they are used to make new food cans, paint cans, aerosol cans and other materials.

Is there a difference between a steel can and a tin can?

You might hear them called different things, but metal food cans are steel cans that have a very thin tin coating. So they are actually both.
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