Are Beer Bottle Caps Recyclable?

We all like a beer every now and again don’t we? Well, I do at least.

As an eco-conscious person, you’ll be more than aware that the glass bottle that the beer temporary lives in is fully recyclable. Good news.

In fact, glass is a sustainable material that can be recycled over and over again to create new products.

But what about the bottle tops? Are beer bottle caps recyclable too?

What are beer bottle caps made from?

We’ve all felt one and probably popped one off a bottle, but what are beer bottle caps made of?

Generally speaking, beer bottle caps are made from metal. More specifically, they tend to manufactured using either steel or aluminium.

And there’s an easy trick to tell the difference. If it sticks to a magnet, it will be steel. If not, it’s probably aluminium.

This does make a difference to your recycling efforts as it’s much better idea to recycle the same materials together.

Did you know: the current version of the metal bottle cap used across the world has 21 teeth. This doesn’t make a difference to your recycling though, just a bit of pub quiz ammo and beer chat for you.

Can you recycle beer bottle caps?

Now we know that most beer bottle tops are made from metal. So, can you recycle beer bottle caps?

Yes, metal beer bottle tops are highly recyclable.

In fact, it’s never been easy to recycle metal materials than it is today. Just like stainless steel and glass, metals such as aluminium are endlessly recyclable. This means they’re sustainable materials.

What about other drinks tops – are bottle caps recyclable too?

Yes other bottle caps on soft drinks are made from the same metallic material, meaning they are fully recyclable.

After metal has been mined and manufactured into its first product, it can then be recycled down and made into something else continually without losing quality.

This is much better for the environment as new metals don’t have to be mined and many of the reprocessing factories can use renewable energy.

How to recycle beer bottle caps?

You now know that beer bottle caps are recyclable.

However, because of their small size, they can often get lost during the recycling process.

The same applies to small amounts of tin or aluminium foil. With foil, it’s best to save the little bits up and roll it into the size of a tennis ball, so it doesn’t get lost!

If individual beer bottle caps go undetected by the sorting machine and separators, which is highly possible, the caps may find their way to the landfill pile. Not good.  

With bottle caps, a top tip is to collect them in another metal container (aluminium or tin) that’s going into your recycling bin.

Good examples of other metal containers for bottle caps include a tin of beans, can of soup or can of chopped tomatoes. Put your beer bottle caps into the empty tin until it’s about half way full, then squeeze the opening of the tin closed so the bottle tops can’t fall out.

The bottle caps, alongside drinks cans, foil trays and other metals are taken to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) where they are first sorted (using magnets and separators).

After this, the metals are crushed together to form a big metal bale – a bit like hay bale, but in metal format. This is why it’s ok to put your bottle caps into a tin of beans (for example), as they’ll get crushed down together.

This metal bale is then taken to a reprocessing plant where they are melted down and eventually manufactured into something else.

What else can I do with beer bottle caps?

If you’re of a crafty persuasion, you can use the metal bottle tops to create some artwork or even a functional bit of kit.

For example, metal beer bottle tops with a sheet of glass over the top can create a stunning table – just like the example below at Manchester Airport using Joseph Holt metal bottle tops.

You can use the beer bottle caps to create a wind chime for the garden or even donate to a local school (once washed of course) to use for an art project.

Wrap up on beer bottle cap recycling

The bottom line is that beer bottle caps are fully recyclable.

Generally speaking they’re made from either aluminium or steel, both of which can be recycled over and over again.

So, rather than throwing your beer bottle caps into the general waste bin, collect them up, put them in a bigger metal container that you’re going to recycle (e.g. a tin of beans) and recycle them altogether.

---

If you found that useful, you’ll like these too…