Aluminium foil

Aluminium foil is used in lots of packaging. You can recycle it, just like food and drink cans or aerosol cans. You can also put it out with your household recycling.

How to check if it’s aluminium foil

To find out if something is aluminium foil:

• Scrunch it into a ball in your hand.
• If it stays scrunched, it’s aluminium and can be recycled.
• If it opens back up, it’s plastic film and cannot be recycled.

Foil containers (like ready meals or takeaway trays)

Before recycling:

• wipe or shake off crumbs
• rinse off any food or sauce. Dirty foil can smell and spoil other recycling.

Foil lids (like yoghurt or cream pot lids)

Before recycling:

• wipe or rinse off any food

Sweet wrappers and chocolate foil

• Scrunch small pieces of foil together to make a bigger ball. This helps with recycling.

Kitchen foil

• Wipe or shake off crumbs.
• Scrunch it into a ball and recycle it.
• Save small bits of foil and scrunch them together with sweet wrappers and foil lids.

Important

if the foil is very greasy or has baked-on food, like from a roast or barbecue, put it into your kitchen bin. It's too dirty to recycle and could cause problems.