Many of us like to think we do our own little bit to help save the planet – whether it be cutting down on our plastic waste or simply trying to save water where possible and recycle as much as we can.
We're often told what we should do, and positive steps we can take to live greener, more eco-friendly lives.
However there's also something pretty simple we definitely shouldn't be doing – and that's crushing our cans before sending them for the bucket.
As innocent as it might seem, it turns out that this is not a good idea according to senior director of public affairs at the Aluminum Association in the US, Matt Mennan.
As reported on Birmingham Live, he told Recyclebank that the majority of refuse sorting facilities use a single-stream recycling system where everything is mixed together and then sorted.
However when the machine sorts through the rubbish it relies on material and shape – so by crushing a can the machine can no longer register what it is, sending it to the non-recyclable pile.
Sean Pettitt, director of Purely Waste Solutions, said: "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."
Metro revealed that the same system is currently in place in the UK – meaning we definitely shouldn't be crushing our cans.
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