Small Metal Objects
Recyclable?
Blue Bins & Chutes
Other Recycling
Recommended
Recycling Bins & Chutes
Metal is widely accepted in the recycling system, particularly aluminum and steel.
BUT: do not put anything rusty in a recycling bin. Likewise do not put items dangerous to workers in recycling bin.
The challenge with small metal items is that it is easy for them to “fall through the cracks” - they fall out of bins when bins are dumped into trucks or are being moved around by cleaner.
Blue Bins
Segregated Bins
Tzu Chi Sustainability Day 2026
Alternative
Trash
Always throw out rusty metals, even when small.
Many metals are not recycled in blue bins and are too small to be collected eg brass, copper, lead.
Alternative
Tips & Suggestions
Disassemble items which have a mixture of materials.
For small items like pens, throw out the plastic parts and recycle the metal parts.
Info & Insights
Not all metals get recycled through blue bins. Ferrous metals (ie magnetic) and aluminum (eg drink cans) are extracted from recycled waste for recycling. Other metals (eg nickle, copper, brass, etc) are not suitable for blue bins.
If you do have recyclable metal but it is small, it is usually filtered out.
Some hacks for keeping your small metal items from getting loose in the recycling bins
- tie them up in a plastic bag (the bag will get removed at the sorting plant)
- keep them in a small tin and recycle the whole tin in when it is full
- if they have sharp edges (like razor blades or needles) wrap them in paper or throw them out: please think of the workers handling our recycling.
At the sorting plant (MRF), metals are separated by magnets and eddy currents - automated ways of picking up even small bits of metal. Some metals are unable to be extracted this way and will unfortunately end up not recycled.
