The future of our environment depends on regular people recycling as much as they can. There are many items that can be recycled beyond just water bottles and cardboard boxes. We encourage you to think about how to recycle household metal, including items that are bi-metal.

Table of Content

  • What Are Bi-Metal Containers?
  • How to Recycle Bi-Metal Containers
  • Have Your CA CRV Recyclables Picked Up

 

What Are Bi-Metal Containers?

The prefix “bi” means two. Unlike many objects, bi-metal items are not made from a mixture of metals, but actually consist of layers of different metals. Bi-metal cans are a combination of steel that is coated with a very thin layer of tin. These cans are both steel and tin, which is why they have “bi” in the name. They are produced by dipping sheets of steel in molten tin or by electroplating. Tin is used as a coating because it has a much slower chemical reaction with food than steel does. You can both recycle tin and steel, meaning these cans are recyclable as well. 

How to Recycle Bi-Metal Containers

The good news is that it’s actually quite easy to recycle household metal items that are both tin and steel. They can actually be mixed with the aluminum cans because, at the recycling plant, the bi-metal cans will be pulled out by a magnet. They are magnetic due to the iron in the steel. Aluminum cans are not magnetic, which is how someone can tell the difference. 

All metal cans are infinitely recyclable! It doesn’t matter if they are aluminum soda cans or tin, steel, or bi-metal food cans. That being said, please empty cans completely and rinse them out as well. This is done to avoid pest and odor problems at the recycling facility. These cans are not trash, so do not treat them as such.

Have Your CA CRV Recyclables Picked Up

People in California bought more than 23 billion carbonated and noncarbonated CRV-eligible drinks in aluminum, glass, plastic, and bi-metal containers in 2015. More than 18.6 billion of those containers were recycled. This combined effort saved natural resources, conserved energy, and extended the life of our landfills. In total, it helped to reduce emissions of harmful greenhouse gasses. Let’s increase the percentage of bi-metal cans that are recycled!

Beverage containers, including but not limited to aluminum soda cans, are subject to the California Redemption Value (CRV). Most beverages packaged in aluminum, glass, plastic, and bi-metal containers are eligible for CRV. CRV is 5 cents for each beverage container less than 24 ounces and 10 cents for each container 24 ounces or greater.

This means you actually make money by giving us unwanted and used bi-metal cans. To make it even easier on you, we’ll actually come pick them up from you!