Cash for Cans: Turn Recycling into Community Funding

cash for cans

Most food and drink cans today are made from aluminium, not steel. Aluminium is lightweight, inexpensive, and can be recycled again and again without losing quality. That’s why recycling companies are happy to buy it.

This creates a great opportunity for local groups. By running a Cash for Cans collection, you can raise money for community projects.

Recycling Can (to avoid trapping wildife)

pinch cans to save wildlife

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  • Rinse out any food or drink.
  • Push tin can lids inside the can (remove to avoid sharp edges).
  • Fold ring pulls back over the opening of drinks cans.
  • Step on upper cans to pinch rims together.

These simple steps help stop birds and small animals from becoming trapped inside discarded cans.

Research by Keep Britain Tidy found that 80% of littered bottles and nearly 5% of littered cans contained the remains of small mammals such as shrews, bank voles and wood mice. Littered cans can  also trap and injure wildlife.

collapsible can opener

Collapsible can openers can also be used to open bottles and ring-pull cans. This one folds away in a drawer.

Say No to Plastic Can Holders

Avoid buying drinks sold in plastic can rings.

These plastic holders can trap birds and other wildlife around their necks or beaks. If you find one as litter, cut through every loop before putting it into a secure bin (not open-topped bins) so it cannot trap around beaks and necks of animals (boycott them, as they are invisible in water).

Start a Cash for Cans Scheme

cash for cans

You can order a free starter pack from ALUPRO, which explains how to collect/sell aluminium cans, clean foil and trays to scrap metal merchants.

The aluminium industry cannot legally pay cash, so you’ll need ID to receive payment by cheque or bank transfer.

Most merchants accept collections of 5kg or more (around 350 drink cans).

You can recycle:

  • Clean aluminium drinks cans.
  • Clean food cans.
  • Clean foil and foil trays (scrunch them into a tennis-ball-sized ball).
  • Clean yoghurt pot foil lids.
  • Easter egg foil.
  • Empty aluminium aerosol cans.

Do not recycle foil that is greasy or covered in burnt-on food. If an aerosol can still hisses when pressed, take it to your local household recycling centre.

How Much Could You Raise?

Scrap metal prices vary, but merchants may pay around £50-£100 for approximately 6,500 cans.

That means:

  • Around £500-£1,000 for 65,000 cans.

The amounts may seem small, but together they can make a huge difference.

Londoners use around 4 million canned drinks every day. If communities across the city collected those cans through local schemes, they could raise an estimated £32,000-£64,000 every day—more than £11-23 million each year, depending on aluminium prices.

Can you imagine how many animal shelters, homeless hubs or environmental charities this could help. Then multiply that throughout every town and city in the modern world!

The UK does not yet have deposit return schemes.

Every Can Counts is now a global movement. In the USA, schools can set up a similar program with TerraCycle.

Report Litter

Report litter that you can’t collect to Fix My Street.

You can upload photos, and the report is sent directly to your local council. Public reports often encourage quicker action, especially when several people report the same problem.

Outside the UK? FixMyStreet is Open Source software, so similar reporting systems can be created elsewhere.

Better Recycling Bins Make a Difference

Neat Streets recycling bin

Councils can invest in Neat Streets colour-coded recycling bins. These are used for cans, glass, cardboard and plastic bottles. The cost is more than offset, by not having staff go out to pick litter off streets.

Studies show people are more likely to recycle when bins are:

  • Brightly coloured.
  • Easy to recognise.
  • Placed next to ordinary litter bins.
  • Located near vending machines, picnic areas and break rooms.

Bins should also be emptied regularly and fitted with lids to stop waste blowing away in windy weather.

Small actions—like rinsing a can, crushing it safely or collecting aluminium for recycling—can protect wildlife, reduce waste and help raise valuable funds for local communities.

No matter who drops litter on public land in England, councils have a legal duty to get it removed. For private land, they can serve Litter Abatement Orders (issuing fines, or sending invoices for staff they pay to clean up).

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