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1. Iron ore, limestoneand coke

2. Blast furnace3. Hot air4. Slag5. Molten iron

3. STEELMAKINGAt the steelmaking plant the BasicOxygen Steelmaking (BOS) vessel istilted to allow scrap (recycled steel) andliquid iron from the blast furnace to betipped into it. Oxygen at high temperatureis then blown through the vessel.Theoxygen combines with the carbon andother unwanted elements and separatesthem from the metal, leaving steel.

4. STEEL SLABS INTO COILMolten steel is tapped from the furnaceand converted into slabs of solid steel.The slabs are passed through a seriesof rollers which squeeze the steel tomake it thinner and longer.The longstrip of steel is rolled into a 10 tonnecoil and allowed to cool.

9. USING CANS AT HOMECanned foods may be eaten alongsidefresh, frozen and chilled as part of abalanced nutritional healthy diet. Somecans even contribute to your 5-a-day.They can be stored in the cupboardand used for snacks or to help cookquick, easy and versatile meals - andcans are easy to recycle. What could bemore CAN-venient?

10. RECYCLINGFood cans are made from steel or aluminium produced with 50%recycled material.They are also 100% and infinitely recyclable.

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1. RAW MATERIALSSteel is made from the earth’s mostcommon natural resources, iron ore,limestone and coal.Another importantingredient is scrap steel recycled from such things as cars, refrigeratorsand cans.

2. IRONMAKINGBlended coal is heated in coke ovens to produce coke.The coke, iron oreand limestone are tipped into the blastfurnace. Hot air is blasted through thefurnace to increase the temperatureand to convert the ingredients intomolten iron. A hole is made in thebottom of the furnace and the molteniron is poured into ladles which arethen taken to the steel furnace.

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CANSINTHECLASSROOM

THE LIFECYCLE OF A CAN

in association with

www.focusonfood.org

www.cannedfood.co.uk

To recycle cans at home, it is helpful to rinse them first before being collected or taking them to the localcan recycling bank.

All steel containers are magnetic andtherefore easily separated from theother recyclables when they go to the recycling centre for sorting.All the different types of steelpackaging are then crushed and baled,and transported to the steel plant.

In the steel plant, the bales are put into the furnace with other recyclablesteel and the whole process starts overagain. So your food cans could end upas a car, bike, fridge, bridge, paper clipor - another food can.

CAN MAKING

6. FILLING CANS

7. PRESSURE COOKING8. TRANSPORT T0 SHOPS

9. USING CANS AT HOME

10. RECYCLING

3. STEELMAKING

4. STEEL SLABS INTO COIL

2. IRONMAKING

1. RAW MATERIALS

The coils are then finely coated witheither tin or chromium oxide (for tinfree steel) to protect from rusting, beforedelivery to the can making factory.

5. CAN MAKINGThere are two ways to produce cans,either using two or three pieces ofmetal.The traditional way is three piececan making. Here the coils of steel arecut into 1 metre square sheets and, inmost cases, they are then coated on theinside with a coating of lacquer to extraprotect the food when inside the cans.

The sheets are then cut into smallerrectangular pieces (or blanks) which areformed into cylinders and electronicallywelded together. Lids are fixed to the

bottom of the can and cans above acertain height are “beaded” in thecentre with rings to strengthen themfor filling, cooking and transportation.

The latest and more modern way to make food cans is two piece canmaking. Here the 10 tonne coils are fed through a machine to form smallmetal cups which are stretched intotaller cans all in one piece.This is called the “draw and wall iron” (DWI) process.

All cans are tested to make sure theywill not leak and are then layered ontopallets ready to deliver to the foodfilling factory that fills and closes thecans with the other lid.

6. FILLING CANSAll types of food arriving at the canningfactory are cleaned and prepared readyfor the canning process.

Seasonal produce like fruit andvegetables are harvested at their peakcondition, then peeled, trimmed, coredor sliced, as necessary.The produce isthen quickly packed into the emptycans moving along a conveyor belt -this ensures no nutrients are lost.

The appropriate liquid (brine, syrup,fruit juice or sauce) depending on theproduct, is poured in to fill the can, the

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1. Two piece can making2. Ends for cans3. Three piece can making

lid is closed to make the can airtightand the filled can proceeds to the mostimportant stage - the cooking process.

7. PRESSURE COOKINGThe sealed cans are stacked and heated in large pressure cookers called retorts and cooked for carefullyselected temperatures and timesdepending on the product. Cooking the food in the can makes the food safe and gives it a long shelf life toensure the food remains “fresh” untilthe can is opened.

8. TRANSPORT T0 SHOPSAfter the cans cool down they arelabelled and loaded into trays or boxesfor delivery to shops and stores for sale.