Reusing aluminium foils: Can you, should you, would you? Know what the experts have to say.

Aluminium foils are primarily used in the culinary industry, more commonly as use-and-throw wrappers. But what most would not know is that they are reusable, and no, you wouldn't need to recycle to do so. Yes, you heard me right. The once-used ones can be reused, provided they have been stored hygienically.

Chelsea Edwards, a registered dietitian and the owner of Huntsville Nutrition Collective in Huntsville, Alabama, has spoken to Southern Living, citing that aluminium foil does not pose any health risks, "Unless you are eating the foil, there's no reason to be wary of using or reusing foil."

Sometimes, dark spots appear as the foils are used to bake dishes, making it less appealing for the user to re-utilise it. But, "The darkening and changes in the colour of foil are harmless," Edwards says.

In fact, as aluminium is abundantly available all around us, our bodies consume it every day. As the third most available element in the earth's crust, it also finds its way into food crops and our drinking water supplies. Thus, it is that natural ingredient in the food which we ingest more often than we realise in tea, salad or chocolate. By the way, at over 60 per cent, we take up the largest part of this natural element with un­treated food, followed by food additives, which account for up to 40 per cent of the amount we in­gest. Only a tiny fraction of up to 4 per cent finds its way into our bodies via uncoated aluminium objects such as household utensils, grilling trays, or aluminium foil.

"If you follow certain rules, the use of aluminium foil as packaging material for food is entirely safe," Dr Ulrich Nehring, certified food chemist, said.

Answering the question of whether one should wash aluminium foil comes down to personal preference and how much food debris has been left behind. "If aluminium foil is heavily soiled, you'll want to wash it before reusing it, but it does not necessarily need to be washed to reuse," Edwards says.

Even if aluminium foils are not in the state of reusing in exact state, they can be reused to remove tarnish from silverware and can also be used by crumpling it up and scrubbing pots and pans or folding to sharpen scissor blades.

The European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) published the results of a recent consumer survey on the use of aluminium household foil. Conducted by global market research institute Censuswide, the survey was held in six major European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Poland) in 2024 and recorded responses from a total of 6,000 consumers. The results affirmed the continued importance of aluminium foil in European households, specifically for food storage and cooking.

The survey demonstrates that 67 per cent of respondents mainly use aluminium foil to wrap or cover food and leftovers. This use is widespread in southern European countries such as France (75 per cent), Spain (74 per cent) and Italy (72 per cent). The tendency to use aluminium foil for wrapping food is slightly lower in Germany (63 per cent), Poland (66 per cent), and the UK (52 per cent). Still, it remains a vital household item in all the European regions. And so much of the material going to recycling when it can be reused doesn't make much sense. So, now on, consider reusing before recycling!