Never Do This Before You Throw An Aluminum Can For Recycling!

© Health Magazine

Okay, let’s first consider the recycling process:

Consumers put all of the recyclables (paper, cans, plastic, glass) on one bin, and in one single-stream recycling system, they will all be sorted at a municipal facility. The majority of cities and towns follow a single-stream recycling collection program.

When you crush the cans before you throw them for recycling, the electrical current will find it hard to separate out the aluminum cans because they will be hard to get identified as cans when crushed at the municipal recycling facilities.

So basically, when a can is crushed, there is a high chance it will be missorted with other materials, which will contaminate the entire batch of recyclables.

Moreover, many factors at aluminum recycling companies can come into play, like the age, design of the facility, and desired targeted commodities. All of this may have a negative impact on aluminum sorting.

This is why you need to keep your aluminum cans the way they are when you recycle cans in single-stream systems. The plastic bottles, however, are best to be recycled crushed!