Nearly all steel products can say to themselves "I used to be a can!". This is because a large amount of used tinplate material is re-smelted in the production of steel. The recycling of tinplate is an important component of steel manufacturing. Therefore used tin cans are a valuable raw material from which new, high-value steel products are made. Tinplate scrap has been collected and recycled for decades.

Tinplate packaging from private homes as well as from small businesses are returned through so-called Dual Systems such as the Duales System Deutschland AG or through Selbstentsorgersysteme (individual compliers). Through this system the majority of it comes from "Gelbe Tonne" or the "Gelben Sack" (yellow recycling bins). In Southern Germany, recycling is mainly done via recycling yards and containers. In addition to collection systems, the recovery of used tinplate comes also from the ashes of rubbish incinerators or from mechanical-biological refuse treatment.

Tinplate from the commercial segment is returned through the Kreislaufsystem Blechverpackungen Stahl GmbH (KBS) or similar systems. An inspection and a special processing controls the correct emptying of residuals before the scrap is used in the steel industry.

Tinplate is an ideal circulation material. Recycled tinplate has unlimited functions and suffers no loss of quality. The metal can be separated easily and economically from other materials by use of a magnet. Moreover tinplate scrap is a desired raw material for the steel industry.