Can Recycling

Both steel and aluminium cans are not only easy to recycle, but doing so also uses less resources than making new cans from scratch.

There is no need to separate your steel or aluminium cans as they are sorted later. However we do ask that cans are rinsed out as this helps keep the banks and boxes clean. You can rinse cans out using your old washing-up water.

Cans collected in recycling boxes are taken to Barrow or Kendal, the can banks are taken to Kendal.

After collection the cans are taken to recycling places where the steel cans are extracted using an industrial magnet. The cans are also cleaned to removed labels and any residual waste.

The clean metal can then be melted and formed into ingots suitable for re-use. These ingots can be rolled to meet the needs of the manufacturer.

Every steel can contains around 25% recycled steel, and around 60% of the aluminium used in this country is from recycled sources. We collect around 60 tonnes of cans every month.

More information about can recycling