dcwcreations / Shutterstock.com Metal Cans Recycling Cart dcwcreations / Shutterstock.com Rinse Before Recycling It’s best if you rinse out steel food cans before recycling them, but it’s not mission critical. If you can’t or don’t rinse, the metal will still be purified during the recycling process. Paper Label Can Be Recycled Separately The can will get recycled if you leave the paper label on, but you can also remove the label to be recycled separately as paper. Ways to Reuse Pen or Paintbrush Holder Clean out empty food cans and use them to store or organize pens, pencils, paintbrushes, or other office, art and craft supplies. Did You Know? Metal Can Be Recycled Again and Again Steel food cans can be recycled over and over again because they don’t lose any of their quality or functionality during the recycling process. Tin Can Recycling in the 1940s