ALU 41
The pack is aluminium. ALU 41 tells a sorter the metal is aluminium, not steel (FE 40).
- Material
- Aluminium
- Code
- ALU 41
- Family
- Metal
- Defined by
- Commission Decision 97/129/EC
Which bin, usually
Usually the cans-and-metal or mixed-recycling bin. The US EPA lists both cans and foil as accepted once food residue is removed, and asks you not to crush cans where everything goes in one mixed bin, because crushed cans are harder for the sorting plant to spot.
Whether this goes in your recycling depends on your local collection; check your council or municipality's sorting guide.
The material
Aluminium: the light, non-magnetic metal of drinks cans and foil.
Where you see it
Drinks cans, kitchen foil and foil trays, some aerosol cans, tubes for tomato purée and creams, tea-light cups, and the lids on yogurt pots.
What it does not mean
ALU 41 does not cover foil bonded to paper or plastic, such as a crisp packet or a drinks carton: those are composites.
The code names the metal; it says nothing about whether your collection takes that shape of item (a can, a foil tray, an aerosol, a tube) or whether it must be empty and clean first.
Other ways it is printed
- ALU under a 41 in a triangle of arrows
- ALU 41, ALU41 or 41 ALU in plain text
- ALU alone, common on foil and cans
Other metal codes
Sources
- Commission Decision 97/129/EC of 28 January 1997 establishing the identification system for packaging materials (OJ L 50, 20.2.1997), as adopted — UK National Archives copy (Annex III: Aluminium, ALU, 41) — checked 2026-09-23
- US EPA: How Do I Recycle Common Recyclables (Aluminum cans and foil) — checked 2026-09-23
- Worcestershire County Council: Recycling symbols explained (Aluminium symbol on drinks cans) — checked 2026-09-23
Written in our own words from these public texts and checked on the date shown. ASTM D7611 and ISO 14021 are sold by their publishers; only their public catalogue text is used here.