Inside, a liquefied gas pushes the product up a tube and out as a fine mist. When the can is empty, its metal can go round again, and while you spray indoors, a little extra fresh air helps.
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.
EMPTY IT then recycle it
Use it up
Don't pierce or crush
Open a window
Simple habits, better sprays
THE SHORT ANSWER
Use it up, then recycle the can.
Aerosol cans are metal, and metal recycles well. Indoors, a little ventilation goes with the spray.
HOW IT WORKS
Gas does the pushing
Britannica says an aerosol has a shell, a valve, a dip tube and a liquefied-gas propellant under pressure that breaks the product into fine particles as it escapes.
Pick a situation to see what the guidance says. The bar shows how much care it calls for.
Based on Recycle Now advice on aerosols and NICE guideline NG149 on indoor air quality at home. General information, not medical advice.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Good metal, often missed.
One figure on what cans are made of, one on how often they miss the recycling.
≈ 60%
Aerosols made from tinplated steel
Recycle Now says around 60% of aerosols are made from tinplated steel and about 40% from aluminium. Both metals are recyclable.
MATERIALS · RECYCLE NOW
22%
Households not recycling aerosols
In WRAP's 2022 survey, aerosols were among the everyday items households most often missed, with 22% not putting them in their recycling.
MISSED · WRAP
Recycle Now says that if everyone in the UK recycled one empty air freshener can, enough energy could be saved to run a TV in 273,000 homes for a year.
INSIDE A SPRAY CAN
From button to mist.
This is how Britannica describes the parts of an aerosol container and what happens when you press the button.
A pressurised shell
The can holds the product together with a liquefied-gas propellant under pressure.
A dip tube
A tube runs from the valve down into the liquid product.
The valve opens
Pressing the button opens the valve, and the product and propellant rise up the dip tube and out.
The propellant vaporises
As it escapes into the air, the propellant turns to gas and breaks the product into fine particles.
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.
FROM CFCS TO TODAY
A 1941 invention, a changed recipe.
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.
Britannica says the aerosol container was developed in the United States in 1941, originally for dispensing insecticides, and was later adapted for products from cleaning supplies to dessert toppings.
Chlorofluorocarbons were once widely used as propellants. After the US restricted most uses in 1978 over ozone depletion, makers in the US and Europe switched mainly to hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide. The Montreal Protocol, signed in 1987, phases out ozone-depleting substances.
Questions
Questions people ask
Can aerosol cans be recycled?
Yes. Recycle Now says aerosols can go in household recycling once completely empty, and some out-of-home recycling points take them too. Around 60% are tinplated steel and about 40% aluminium, and both metals are recyclable.
Should I pierce or crush an empty aerosol?
No. Recycle Now says not to pierce, crush or flatten aerosol cans. Remove loose parts such as the lid and recycle those as well.
How does a spray can work?
A liquefied-gas propellant under pressure pushes the product up a dip tube when the valve opens. As the propellant vaporises in the air, it breaks the product into fine particles.
Do sprays affect indoor air?
NICE says cleaning products, household sprays, aerosols and paints may lead to poor indoor air quality, and that people should think about increasing ventilation when using them.
Do aerosols still contain CFCs?
Britannica says the US restricted most CFC propellant uses in 1978, and makers in the US and Europe replaced them mainly with hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide.
