Got Metal? 3 Handy Tips For Recycling Household Items That Contain Metal
More than 50 billion aluminum cans are recycled in the United States alone each year. In fact, aluminum soda, beer and beverage cans are recycled more often than any other type of beverage container. So if you want to start recycling your household metal items, aluminum cans are a great place to start. However, there are a myriad of other metal items, such as aluminum foil, that you may not think about recycling. If you want to start recycling all the metal you can, following are three tips for recycling household items that contain metal.
Determine If It Is Recyclable
You can recycle just about anything that's metal, including aluminum foil, metal yogurt tops, metallic snack bags, paint cans, empty aerosol cans and some types of cookware, such as metal baking pans. However, other common household items are not recyclable. Non-recyclable items include drink pouches, aluminum-lined packaging, full paint cans, full aerosol cans, razor blades, nails, screws and kitchen utensils, such as forks and spoons. Chip bags that quickly snap back into shape after being crumbled contain plastic and are, therefore, not recyclable. To determine whether or not your items can be recycled, contact your local recycling center for a complete list of things they will accept and check for a recycling symbol on the container.
Clean It Up and Make It Safe
When it comes to certain items, you have to do a few things to get them ready for the recycle bin. For example, you must empty and rinse soda cans, paint cans and aerosol cans before placing them in the bin. You should also remove any pieces of metal that might get caught in machinery at the recycling center, including soda can tabs and small pieces of foil. If some items are particularly dirty, you should clean them to the best of your ability before sorting them.
Let The Pros Handle Large Items
Complex metal items, such as bicycles, furniture, exercise equipment and car parts are recyclable. However, you have to take them to the scrap yard or call to have them picked up. These items must be disassembled and sorted according to metal type. So it's a good idea to let the people at your local recycling center handle these items for you.
Some recycling centers will accept some types of metal while others will not. Therefore, it's always a good idea to find out what items your local center will accept before starting an at-home recycling program. For more information, check out the site of a trash and recycling company.
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