What to do with
Foil
Want to recycle foil but don't know if you can?
Clean household foil and aluminium trays are widely recycled. To check if you can recycle foil at home or to find out where your nearest recycling facilities are, use our handy Recycling Locator tool.
As well as foil, you can usually recycle these other aluminium items:
- Drinks cans
- Foil takeaway containers
- Barbeque and freezing trays
- Cigarette and tobacco foil
- Screw top lids from wine bottles (recycle with the wine bottle - the cap can be left on)
How should I recycle foil?
- Scrunch foil together to form a ball
- Only clean foil should be recycled
- If the foil still has bits of food on it, wash it thoroughly before recycling
- If you collect drinks cans as part of a Cash for Cans scheme, you may be able to sell clean, used household foil too
- For more information on foil, visit www.alupro.org.uk
Are crisp packets recyclable?
No - there are a few packaging items such as crisp packets that can look like aluminium foil but are actually made from metallised plastic film. This type of material is not currently recycled and should be put in your rubbish bin.
How to tell the difference between foil and plastic film
An easy way to find out if an item is foil or metallised plastic film, is to do the scrunch test. Simply scrunch the item in your hand - if it remains 'scrunched' it is foil and can be recycled; if it springs back it is probably metallised plastic film and not recyclable.