Cans
ALL COMMUNITIES can include metal food and beverage cans such as pop, beer, soup, vegetable, and tuna cans in recycling. Cans should be empty, clean and dry.
All metal food and beverage cans such as pop, beer, soup, vegetable, and tuna can be recycled in all community recycling programs. Metal tins for items such tea, coffee, cookies and biscuits are also included. Cans should be empty, clean and dry before being recycled.
Cans are made from either steel or aluminum. Aluminum cans you put in your curbside recycling are processed and turned back in to new cans and foil that you’ll see on store shelves. Steel cans are recycled into new cans, car parts and even bridges.
Aluminum beverage cans may be turned in for cash at a local scrap yard. Some area fire stations collect cans to benefit the Aluminum Cans for Burned Children of Northeast Ohio program; check with your community for details. You can also use this website's location services or the ‘Select a City’ drop-down in the dark green bar at the top of every page.
Do not include scrap metal, car parts, wire and cord, or other metal objects in your curbside recycling. These metal objects are dangerous for the workers and the sorting machinery at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF or recycling plant). Take the items to a local scrap yard.
Cat Food Cans
In general, lined pet food cans should not be placed in curbside recycling. They are an item that tends to fit into an acceptable/non-acceptable category at a MRF and may or may not be captured depending on the facility. Our staff recently learned this information and is working to confirm. And, unfortunately, loose lids from cat food cans are too small to make it through the sorting equipment. In the meantime, to make sure they are captured for recycling, we recommend that clean cat food cans be taken to a scrap metal yard to be recycled. A list of options is below.
Businesses can recycle metal food and beverage cans through a local company. For business locations, see the list of options below.
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Looking to recycle, donate or dispose of other items? Use the dark blue 'What Do I Do With?' search bar at the top of every page of this website. Allow location services or use the city drop-down to find opportunities in your local area.