Aluminum Trays and Pans Recycling Clean Out Before Recycling Empty aluminum trays and pans of all items, including food, condiments, utensils, lids, and napkins. The aluminum trays and pans must be mostly clean. If they contain a lot of food residue like melted cheese, place these items in the trash container. Ways to Reuse Clean and Save Aluminum trays and pans can be washed and reused multiple times. You can also put them to use storing craft materials, shed or garage items, or catching drips from household plants. Did You Know? Why Recycle Aluminum? Recycling aluminum conserves 95 percent of the energy that is typically spent when making new aluminum, which makes it the most valuable item you can recycle.