An aerosol can’s route depends on what it held, whether anything remains, and your local program. Keep nonempty or damaged cans out of trash and curbside recycling.
Do not puncture, crush, burn, or deliberately spray out a can to make it recyclable.
Read the Product Label First
The label identifies the product and may give disposal directions. Follow those directions before general recycling advice.
Aerosol cans can hold paint, pesticides, food, cleaners, personal-care products, or other materials. Their contents can change the disposal route.
Do not assume two cans with the same metal shell belong in the same program.
Handle Nonempty Cans as a Special Item
EPA says aerosol cans that are not empty do not belong in household recycling bins. They may fit a local household hazardous waste program.
Ask the program whether it accepts the specific product, such as paint, pesticide, cleaner, or personal-care aerosol.
Keep the can closed and follow its storage label while you wait. Never mix its contents with another product.
Check Local Rules for Empty Cans
Some local recycling programs accept empty metal aerosol cans. Others keep every aerosol can out of curbside recycling.
Search your hauler’s accepted-items list for aerosol cans. Ask whether caps or spray nozzles should stay on and what the program means by empty.
Do not puncture a can to prove it is empty. EPA’s puncturing rules apply to trained universal-waste handlers using special equipment and procedures, not ordinary household preparation.
Get Instructions for Damaged or Leaking Cans
If a can is leaking, bulging, badly rusted, hot, or hissing unexpectedly, keep people away and call your fire department or local hazardous-materials official.
Do not put a leaking can in your vehicle until the receiving authority tells you how to handle it.
Keep all aerosol cans away from heat, sparks, and flames. Many use flammable propellants, and every can is pressurized during normal use.
Keep Workplace Aerosols Out of Household Programs
This article covers aerosol cans discarded by a household. A business, school, shop, or contractor may have federal and state hazardous-waste duties.
EPA’s universal-waste aerosol rules mainly govern regulated handlers. A workplace should follow its waste program rather than copying household directions.
Use or Donate Only When Appropriate
If a product is usable, unexpired, and allowed to be shared, ask a recipient before giving it away. Keep the label attached.
Do not donate recalled, leaking, damaged, or restricted products. Pesticide labels and local laws may limit transfer.
For product-specific guidance, see how to dispose of spray paint or a butane can.