Good, Better, Best — Reducing Metal Waste

Metal is the fifth most common material in U.S. household trash, behind paper, food, plastics, and yard trimmings, according to the EPA’s most recent national data. Unlike those other heavyweights, metal is inert in a landfill and doesn’t burn, so every can, pan, or appliance that ends up buried just sits there indefinitely while we mine fresh ore to replace it.

That waste is almost entirely avoidable, though future generations may thank us for provisioning mines with ample supplies of metal. Most metal is infinitely recyclable, meaning it can be melted and reformed repeatedly without degrading. Because mining metal is among the world’s most environmentally damaging industries, keeping what’s already been mined in circulation is one of the highest-leverage things a household can do. And companies working to eliminate plastic waste often lean on metal as the durable, recyclable alternative, which makes handling it well even more important.

Sustainability is a journey, not a single choice. Wherever you are on yours, here are the next steps to keep metal out of the garbage.

Metal Waste

Metals are consistently among the most valuable recyclable commodities — you might even be able to make money recycling your scrap. They fall into two families. Ferrous metals such as steel and iron contain iron, can be identified with a magnet, and rank among the most recycled materials on Earth. Nonferrous metals include aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, and tin, along with precious metals like gold and silver and the rare earth elements used in electronics.

Aluminum cans are the most recycled and by far the most valuable beverage container in the U.S., worth roughly $1,338 a ton in the recycling stream compared with $215 for PET plastic and a negative value for glass, the Aluminum Association reports.

Here’s the catch worth: even our best-recycled metal is slipping. Americans recycled just 43% of aluminum cans in 2023, the lowest rate in decades, down from an average around 52% since tracking began in 1990, according to the Aluminum Association and the Can Manufacturers Institute. On average, each of us threw away the equivalent of 15 twelve-packs of cans — about $1.2 billion worth of aluminum in total — instead of recycling them.

But all of us have different habits, and stepping up a level can make a big difference for the environment and our wallets.

Good

It’s good to start with the simplest step: participate in your curbside recycling program. Nearly every curbside program accepts aluminum and steel cans, and many take larger pieces of scrap metal too. Even if your community has no curbside service, search the Earth911 recycling locator to find a metal recycler near you.

If you live in a state with a container deposit return program, often referred to as a “bottle bill,” use it. Deposit return is the single biggest lever on the recycling rate: the 10 states with deposit programs recycle aluminum cans at an average of 68%, versus just 22% in states without them, and eight of the top 10 states for can recycling have a deposit law on the books.

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