Aluminium packaging
Aluminium drink cans, foil baking and pie trays are household packaging and are recyclable in recycling bins in the ACT.
Disposal options
- Containers should be empty and dry
- Foil can be scrunched into a ball (at least the size of a credit card) and placed in your recycling bin
- Under the ACT Container Deposit Scheme (ACT CDS), you can return eligible, empty beverage containers (including some aluminium cans) to return points and receive a 10-cent refund for each container
- Recycle foil packaging like pie and lasagne trays
- For excess household recycling, drop off for free at a Recycling Drop Off Centre
- See entry for metal for aluminium that is not considered household containers or packaging
Why
Aluminium is particularly well suited to recycling as 100% can be recovered in the recycling process. Re-melting used aluminium saves up to 95% of the energy needed to produce the primary product and reduces the environmental impacts of bauxite mining. Aluminium cans, packaging and foil can be recycled through kerbside recycling collections. The aluminium is separated from the co-mingled recycling using electromagnets which induce eddy currents, causing the aluminium to be repelled and pushed into a separate collection bin. Aluminium is then baled and sold for re-processing. Reprocessing involves crushing, shredding and melting with new aluminium before converting into new products.
More info on aluminium (PDF 316.9 KB)