Can baking foil trays be recycled?

Today, consumer behavior has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More consumers rely on food delivery and order meals to-go rather than dine-in, causing an increased amount of packaging waste. Packaging made from aluminum, such as aluminum foil, foil food trays, and foil cups, are great choices when it comes to food packaging. Not only are aluminum foil packaging clean and safe, they are also eco-friendly.

But wait! … How can aluminum be eco-friendly? Are they disposed of and become trash? Trash cannot be recycled but aluminum can be infinitely recycled. Recycling aluminum uses 95% less energy than producing new aluminum.

When thinking about recycling aluminum packaging, most people only think about beverage cans. Do you know that aluminum foil and other aluminum packaging, such as various foil trays for bakery items, can also be recycled? Most of these used aluminum packaging will have leftover food stuck on them so it is important to know how to properly prepare the used aluminum packaging before sending them to be recycled so that they can be recycled effectively.

If there is food left in the aluminum foil container, such as bread, vegetables, and fruits as long as it is not oily or sticky, simply remove the food and put the used aluminum container into the yellow recycling bin. The yellow trash bin is for recyclables, such as glass, paper, plastic, and metals. Moreover, if we can help separate each type of materials from home, it will make the recycling process easier.

If the used aluminum container contains oil or sauce, it should be rinsed properly so that there is nothing left but it does not need to be thoroughly cleaned. We can then drop the rinsed container into the recycling bin.

If there is anything remaining after rinsing, such as sticky residue and burnt food, you can throw the used aluminum container into the trash bin. Aluminum foil packaging with sticky residue that cannot be removed will not be recyclable because the food scraps will contaminate the recycling process and reduce the quality of the recycled aluminum.

Simply by “separating, rinsing, and putting aluminum foil into the recycling bin”, we all can help protect the environment. If you would like more information about aluminum foil packaging and recycling, please feel free to contact us at Union Inta Co., Ltd., the producer of STAR PRODUCTS aluminum foil food packaging.