Do labels affect the ability to recycle aluminum beer cans?

Strange. Never seen that before.

No idea if it’s true, but I would think that could/would be burned off in the recycling process?

 

Perhaps the label’s paint contains a metal that could possibly be melted in with the aluminum? Seems really far fetched but that’s all I can think of.

I don’t have access to recycling services here in Cow and Rock County, NV, and not I’m not going to store up all of my cans for months on end to haul to the aluminum scrapper. I have friend who does just that, but he’s kinda out there anyway. He built his own hydraulic can crushing machine and likes to film himself using it.

 

I recently saw the same statement on a label too. There was a thread on this topic a couple years ago where someone stated that cans are shredded before being melted, and that the glue from the label tends to gum up the shredder blades. But just like everything you might read on the internet, how much truth is in the statement, I don't know. The sticky logic is certainly there, and there must be someone pushing from somewhere to get the breweries to add that request to their labels.

However, here in Michigan I lose a dime and bend a couple fingernails if I peel those suckers, so I don't.

 

I don’t recall seeing that on any labels, but if it helps the recycling process I suppose it’s not too much to ask. I just peeled the label off a can I drank earlier today, it took all of about 5 seconds. A lot less time than it took to type this response.

 

Time to ask a recycling company if it's a problem.

 

10 page thread from last year on the topic here https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/peeling-the-labels-off-beer-cans.671802/

 

I will contact a local metal recycling Co. and inquire.The place I'm calling has aluminum prices at $0.60 per pound. There are approx 32-35 aluminum cans per pound and each can weighs roughly .5 oz making each can worth almost 2 cents.
When we as consumers don't remove the labels from aluminum cans when finished the recycling center will probably have to buy another type of machine to remove the labels prior to crushing, cubing, and melting or the value and overall purity of the recycled metal is diluted. They have to change the normal melting temperature to deal with the labels and that in itself has an impact on the metal. Purity affects the sale price for the recycling center.
It differs state to state, center to center, and these different independent or contracted centers will or will not accept based on their own rules.
Their reply: It helps recycling centers when we remove labels from aluminum cans particularly for the kondirating and melting processes.

 

@jmdrpi our township sent out a reminder to remove stickers if you want the can to potentially be recycled. Stick on, they let it roll on by on conveyor belt.

I’ve been taking them off, pretty easily, ever since. I get a nice dose of adhesive fumes every time I do, which I’m sure isn’t great; but oh well.

 

Nothing about this on the Seattle Public Utilities recycling site—I even sat through their 51-second YouTube video. Just says it’s important to rinse out containers, which I already do. It must depend on the system/process each municipality uses, as others have said. I’ll start doing this just in case it helps, but won’t feel all that guilty if I sometimes forget. Most of the beer I still have in my beer fridge is bottles or cans with printed art anyway.

 

I collect beer can labels and use a simple process that I read about online to quickly and easily remove the labels. I boil water and, using a funnel, pour some into each can which melts the glue. The labels then peel off whole with a fingernail or a razor blade. Then, I recycle the cans.

 

@cavedave , @cavedave , @cavedave

let’s see if that works.

 

I'll peel labels if the brewer uses the kind that comes off easily without leaving a sticky mess. I drink a lot of Drekker and their labels come off easily with no mess.

 

I searched for a post of mine using the word " peel " .

Thought it might get a "The search could not be completed because the search keywords were too short, too long, or too common" result, but, nope - it worked.

 

Al plastic labels are capable to be burnt off as "slag" during the recycle smelting process. Of course it is better for health not to do this. OTOH the recyclers that collect and sell the materials to industry often cannot or will not recycle those labels for a variety of reasons. I suspect the willingness of recyclers to pass on aluminum cans with plastic labels is directly related to the market price of aluminum. Anyway, over the years I have read many things contradicting other things, but here is current thoughts about it

"... the presence of plastic labels or shrink wrap can still contaminate the aluminum and cause issues at recycling facilities, often leading to the can being rejected from the recycling stream due to concerns about plastic contamination; therefore, it's best to remove plastic wrapping before recycling aluminum cans whenever possible."

 

Imo, Brewers should be responsible and use wet strength paper labels. Plastic is cheaper than paper and having customers responsible for this stinks.

 

*Shakes fist at the sky* Why do they make it harder to do the right thing?

 

Yeah in the end anything with packaging is problematic