How many aluminum cans fit in a 13 gallon bag?

Roughly 70 to 90 standard 12-ounce cans uncrushed, and roughly 250 to 300 crushed flat. The spread is real rather than vagueness on our part: it depends entirely on how the cans settle, and a bag shaken down holds noticeably more than one filled loose. The weight surprises people more than the count does - at about 13 grams of metal per can, 80 uncrushed cans is only about 2.3 pounds, and 300 crushed cans about 8.6 pounds.

We would rather show the working than hand you a number, because the number depends on assumptions you may want to change.

1. The bag. A 13-gallon bag is about 49.2 liters, or about 3,000 cubic inches of nominal volume. Nominal is doing some work there - a bag in a can takes the shape of the can, and a bag hanging from a hand does not.
2. The can. A standard 12-ounce beverage can is about 2.6 inches in diameter and 4.8 inches tall, so it displaces about 25 to 26 cubic inches as a cylinder.
3. The packing. Cylinders tipped in at random do not fill a space: expect to use roughly 55 to 65 percent of the available volume, more if you shake the bag down so the cans nest. That gives you about 70 to 90 cans, and it is why the honest answer is a range.
4. Crushing. Flattening a can reduces the volume it occupies by roughly two thirds to three quarters, which is where 250 to 300 comes from. It does not change the weight at all - the metal is the same metal.
5. The weight. The Can Manufacturers Institute puts about 13 grams of metal in an average aluminum beverage can, which works out at roughly 35 empty cans to the pound.

It depends entirely on where the cans are going, and getting this wrong is the one way to lose actual money.

• Taking them to a scrap yard: crush them. Three to four times as many cans per bag, identical weight, far fewer trips. Nobody at a scrap yard cares what shape they are in.
• Living in a container-deposit state: do not crush them. Redemption centers generally need to identify and count whole containers, and a flattened can may be rejected. Check your own state's program before you flatten a single one - the deposit is usually worth more than the scrap value of the metal.
• Single-stream curbside recycling: do not crush them. Many material recovery facilities sort by shape as well as by material, and a flattened can can be mis-sorted as paper. Your local program's guidance is the authority here, and it varies.
• Storing them at home: crush them. This is the case where crushing genuinely helps you rather than anybody else, because the storage space is yours.

Cans are light, so bag strength barely matters - until a can with a sharp torn tab goes in, or until you drag the bag across concrete. That is the whole specification for this job: puncture resistance at the bottom, and enough film to tie.

Two 13-gallon bags with reinforced bottoms, and the vented 32-gallon container to collect in if you are saving cans for a scrap run rather than bagging them weekly.

Best overall bag

Glad ForceFlexPlus Tall Kitchen Drawstring Trash Bags, 13 Gallon

The 13-gallon bag to buy if yours keep splitting: two layers of stretch film, double side seams and a reinforced bottom.

$35.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of October 17, 2026.  #ad How we make money

Best for odor

Hefty Ultra Strong Tall Kitchen Trash Bags, 13 Gallon

The main alternative to Glad, with odor control worked into the film rather than added as a scent strip.

$15.52 · View on Amazon

Price as of October 17, 2026.  #ad How we make money

Best for bag removal

Rubbermaid Commercial BRUTE 32 Gallon Vented Container

The commercial standard, and the only can here that solves the vacuum-stuck bag properly.

Check price on Amazon

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If you are collecting cans in volume, the container is the better purchase than the bag: a 32-gallon vented container holds roughly two and a half times what a 13-gallon bag does, and the venting channels mean a full liner lifts out instead of fighting a vacuum. The best commercial trash cans covers that class, and the best 13-gallon trash bags ranks the bags.

One more practical note: rinse them. A bag of unrinsed cans in a warm garage is the commonest cause of fruit flies in a house that does not otherwise have a trash problem, because the sugar residue is what breeds them. Trash can fruit flies has the fix, and the EPA's waste-handling guidance makes the same point about recycling containers in schools: rinse before they go in the bin.