Did you know that canned foods are one of the best ways to protect the environment by reducing waste, saving energy and preserving the planet’s natural resources?
Recycling
All food cans are made from either steel or aluminium – a permanently available material which can be infinitely recycled with no loss of quality.
Cans are easily recyclable and could come back as another can in as little as six weeks or be remade into a bike, bridge or car.
Cans are easy to separate from other waste materials. Magnetism is used to separate steel cans, whilst eddy currents simply lift aluminium cans from the conveyer belt in a materials recycling facility.
Steel production with recycled steel produces approximately 78% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than making steel with virgin steel. (Source: Worldsteel 2021)
Every tonne of scrap used for steel production avoids approximately the emission of 1.5 tonnes of CO₂ and the consumption of 1.4 tonnes of iron ore, 740 kg of coal, and 120 kg of limestone. (Source Worldsteel 2021)
Waste
Around 6 million tonnes of food is thrown away by UK households annually (Source WRAP 2025)
Canned foods have an incredibly long shelf life – up to three years which helps to reduce food waste at home.
To further reduce food waste, empty any partly used canned foods into a suitable container and store in the fridge as you would other refrigerated food.
Energy
All canned food is cooked in the can so you only need to heat it up saving time and energy.
Canned foods can be used straight from the can with no need for chilling or freezing either during transit, in shop or at home, saving energy.
