Can You Recycle Aluminum Foil?

Can you put aluminum foil in the recycling bin?

Only if your local program takes it. Reynolds, which makes Reynolds Wrap, answers the question on its own FAQ page about recycling foil. “Yes, Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil is recyclable, but its acceptance in recycling programs is limited.” The page tells readers to “verify that your local recycling program accepts aluminum foil at drop-off or curbside before you put it in a bin.”

For how to check, Reynolds points to its recycling partner, How2Recycle. How2Recycle’s check locally page says “recycling programs vary from community to community” and that “your community’s recycling website is often the best place to find information on your specific program.” A package carrying How2Recycle’s “Check Locally” label, marked with a location pin, is one whose acceptance depends on where you live.

How do you prepare aluminum foil for recycling?

Clean it, ball it and bin it with your other metal. Reynolds gives the steps in order:

1. Rinse or wipe off any food residue. “Any food residue will be considered contaminated and not recyclable.”
2. Crumple clean pieces together into a ball “at least 2 inches in diameter so small pieces do not get lost in the sorting process.”
3. Check your local program’s foil guidelines, “as rules can vary by municipality.”
4. Place the ball in the curbside bin “with other aluminum and metal items.”

The ball has a stated reason. Reynolds’ own list of mistakes includes “tossing small pieces of foil that may blow away or jam the sorting equipment.”

What foil should stay out of the bin?

Reynolds names three things to avoid. Heavily soiled or grease-covered foil is the first. Foil mixed with other materials is the second, and the page gives “foil-lined paper or plastic” as examples. Small loose pieces are the third, for the sorting reason above. For foil that is lightly used, the same brand’s page on reusing foil suggests giving it “a second life” before recycling or trashing it, catching oven drips or covering leftovers. It adds one exception: foil that has touched raw meat “might carry bacteria,” so that piece gets replaced.

How much aluminum packaging gets recycled?

EPA’s most recent figures are for 2018, and they show about a third. EPA’s aluminum material-specific data puts the recycling rate of aluminum containers and packaging, “which includes beverage containers, food containers, foil and other aluminum packaging,” at 34.9 percent that year. Beer and soft drink cans were the most recycled category, at 50.4 percent. EPA does not break out foil on its own, so no figure for foil alone exists on that page.

Where this comes from

Every statement above is quoted from four pages, read on October 16, 2026: Reynolds’ FAQ pages on recycling and on reusing aluminum foil, How2Recycle’s page on checking locally, and EPA’s aluminum material-specific data. This post names no foil to buy. It reports what the maker of one brand and two outside sources say about getting foil recycled.