According to the?Aluminum Association,? aluminum is among the most valuable and recyclable materials known to humanity. It forms a perfect closed loop and can be recycled endlessly. Some 75% of all products made from aluminum are recycled in the US. But what about foil? Recycling this tricky type of aluminum is not so straightforward. Here are 5 must-know tips that will help you optimize the way you recycle aluminum foil in your home.

1. Find out what is accepted in your program

What is aluminum foil anyway? You might know that foil is potentially recyclable, but between foil sheets, or pans, or packaging you may not know what to do with it. And tin foil is not biodegraddable.Aluminum cans are accepted for recycling almost everywhere, but foil pans and foil sheets may be different from city to city.

A single American throws away roughly three pounds of foil every year. If it reaches the landfill, it will take approximately 400 years to break down through the oxidation process. Worse still, if it's burnt it contributes to toxic air pollution and releases harmful gases into our atmosphere.

Check with your municipality to see if they accept aluminum foil pans and aluminum foil sheets. Foil pans are more widely accepted since they are easy to wash, but foil sheets can sometimes be nixed by recycling programs due to the high levels of food contamination.

2. Contaminated tin foil can't be recycled

Clean tin foil is recyclable in many municipalities - until it comes into contact with your lunch. Because foil recycling relies on clean materials, you can't just ball up your foil and throw it in the recycling bin. Once the foil is contaminated with food waste, it stops being viable.

If enough contaminated foil gets into your stream, it has the potential to ruin every other material in that load. This means?none of it can be recycled,?so the entire process is rendered null and void. Educate your household about clean tin foil recycling to prevent contamination.

3. Clean your foil

An easy way to get around the food contamination is to wash off, wipe off, or scrape off food particles from your foil pans and sheets before adding them to your bin. If there is caked on food from baking or balled up foil sheets that have food in all sorts of crevices, do not add these items to your recycling.

Foil pans and takeout containers can even be washed in the dishwasher. It is actually recommended to put foil in dishwashersto help remove stains on silverware and prevent rust. If you are putting foil sheets in, use the top rack and place something over it to keep it in place during the wash.

4. Reuse tin foil

The good news is that you're not powerless against the food contamination making its way into your canteen. Once you wash your foil pans and sheets, you can use them again and again. In this case, you are recycling them at home until they become too worn to use. Think of the cost savings of using these items again and again!

Reusing aluminum foil is an infinitely better alternative to plastic for food storage and wrap. Aluminum packaging is strong and can be used repeatedly then it can likely be recycled. Again, check with your municipality to see what types of aluminum they accept.

5. Get creative about reusing foil

Aluminum foil recycling is the final step in the lifecycle of your foil (before it becomes another aluminum product). The goal of sustainability?is to keep the recyclable material in play as long as it's useful, and to only recycle it once it has no more use.

Tin foil has an enormous range of uses that you can take advantage of. It polishes silverware, cleans grills, scrubs dishes, sharpens scissors, improves radiator efficiency, and reflects light in a sun box for office plants. Find ways to lengthen its lifespan in your home.

Looking Forward

Right now, aluminum cans are the easiest to recycle but we want to challenge your household to start tackling the products that aren't so easy. Set a goal to make foil recycling a regular practice at your home and in your daily lives.