Even if you are a careful recycler, it turns out that this one mistake could be undoing your good work.
If you crush your cans before you recycle them, you might be stopping them from being able to be recycled at all.
This is because at the majority of refuse sorting facilities, the systems used cannot tell what a crushed can is, according to Birmingham Live.
This means instead of picking it out for recycling, it may put it in the non-recyclable pile.
These facilities are where mixed recycling is sorted through, using a machine which relies on material and shape.
Sean Pettitt, the director of Purely Waste Solutions explained: “If you put all of your recyclables in the same bin which then goes to a materials recovery facility to be segregated, it can make it harder for a squashed can to be separated.
"The reason for this is that it is easier for equipment to sort intact aluminium cans due to the larger surface area of the material for the eddy current separator to detect.
"The same applies to the steel cans for the magnet to remove this material in the process."
