Aluminium is one of the most versatile metals on Earth — its lightweight, durable, and corrosion-resistant qualities make it ideal for use in almost every industry, from cleanroom equipment to aircraft manufacturing and of course, food packaging.
It’s common knowledge that aluminium cans can be easily recycled, but this consensus is not shared when it comes to whether aluminium foil can be recycled. As both types of products are made from the same material, most people assume that aluminium foil is equally recyclable.
So, can you recycle aluminium foil, and what are the considerations for doing so? Here is a clear guide on how you can responsibly dispose of your unwanted or used aluminium foil.
Can Aluminium Foil Be Recycled?
The short answer is yes: aluminium foil can be recycled. In fact, aluminium metal is considered to be infinitely recyclable — meaning that it can be melted down and reused to form new products without losing any quality in the process, no matter how many times it is carried out.
The catch is that while aluminium can be efficiently recycled in theory, the structure and condition of aluminium foil poses a problem to the recycling process. Aluminium foil is thin and tears easily, making it difficult to process in most recycling facilities due to the high likelihood of it being shredded into scraps that are too small to be sorted. These scraps can also get trapped in the recycling equipment machinery and cause clogs or blockages over time.
Aluminium foil is also rarely disposed of in its original clean condition — tossed-out foil is often covered in food scraps or oil that will end up contaminating the integrity of recycled aluminium.
Can You Put Aluminium Foil in the Recycling Bin?
In Australia, there are only a handful of recycling facilities with specialised equipment that can recycle aluminium foil effectively. Depending on where you live and the regulations of your local council recycling program, aluminium may or may not be accepted in the recycling bin.
Always check with your local council’s recycling guidelines to determine if aluminium foil can be placed in the yellow recycling bins.
The Importance of Recycling Aluminium Foil
Metals like aluminium are a finite resource of our planet, and recycling aluminium foil helps to conserve the scarce resources that the world continues to face.
To put into perspective the impact that recycling aluminium foil can have, here’s a startling statistic: Recycling aluminium requires only about 5% of the energy needed to produce new aluminium from raw materials, making it an extremely energy-efficient process that can help save significantly on the world’s natural resources. In other words, every bit counts!
How to Recycle Used Aluminium Foil
If your local council accepts aluminium foil as part of the recycling program, it’s worth knowing the proper steps to take before tossing it into the yellow-lid bin.
Step 1: Separate foil pieces
The bigger the piece of foil, the easier it will be to recycle. Larger sheets of aluminium foil are more likely to be picked out in the sorting process before recycling and have a lower chance of being trapped or lost.
Step 2: Clean foil
Wash and rinse the aluminium foil to get rid of any food scraps and substances, such as oil. There’s no need to scrub the foil until it’s polished — the general idea is simply to get rid of as much contaminating material as possible. This ensures that the aluminium foil is kept pure during the recycling process. Leave the foil to dry after it’s been washed.
Step 3: Crush into a ball
Once the foil is cleaned and dry, crush it into a ball before depositing it into the recycling bin. Scrunching up the aluminium foil into a ball makes it less prone to accidental shredding during the transportation and sorting process. If you have smaller pieces of foil that have torn off from the main piece, place them inside the larger piece before crushing it up.
If you live in a council area that does not accept aluminium foil for recycling, there’s always the option of engaging a rubbish removal service (like Ridly!) to help you take it to a proper recycling facility that does accept it. As the leading removalists for household rubbish in Sydney, we offer a quick, affordable, responsible way to dispose of any used aluminium foil or other junk.