Tins and cans
In this section |
What are they?
Tins and cans are made from either steel or aluminium. These metals are contained as ‘ores’ (or minerals) in certain rocks.
Steel is known as a ‘ ferrous’ metal because it contains iron and is magnetic. Aluminium is known as a ‘non-ferrous’ metal because it does not contain iron and is not magnetic. This means that steel and aluminium tins and can be separated easily using magnets.
Facts about steel and aluminium;
Steel
- 80% of our tins and cans are made from steel.
- Steel can be recycled endlessly with no loss of quality.
- Steel cans preserve food naturally and do not need additives.
- Steel cans are approximately 35% lighter than they were 20 years ago.
- One tonne of recycled steel saves two tonnes of raw materials. This is a 70% energy saving.
Aluminium
- 20% of our tins and cans are made from aluminium.
- Aluminium can be recycled endlessly with no loss of quality.
- Aluminium is worth approximately 6 times more than steel
- Aluminium is lighter than steel which reduces transport costs.
- Aluminium can be thinner than steel and do the same job.
- It takes less energy, and material, to produce aluminium compared to steel.
- Recycled aluminium saves 95% of the energy needed to produce it from scratch.
Did you know?
A 'tin can' is actually a steel can with tin coating. Tin is used to prevent the steel can rusting.
Can they be recycled?
Yes they can!
Both steel and aluminium food and drinks cans are easy to recycle providing they are clean.
When aluminium is so valuable, you may be wondering why some drinks cans are made from steel and some from aluminium? When all the elements are added up (such as production, processing and transport costs) the two products are actually very similar in cost. Once these tins become rubbish however, one tonne of steel is worth approximately £170 and one tonne of aluminium £1,000.
Where can I recycle them?
All Devon councils collect tins and cans from homes; you will also be able to recycle tins and cans in High street recycling bins, recycling banks and Recycling Centres.
Did you know?
You would need to collect approximately 50,000 aluminium cans to make a tonne!
This website is intended to provide a broad introduction to waste management in Devon, if it doesn’t answer all your waste questions, please contact us via the ‘Ask a question’ page on this site and we will do our best to answer it.
