Recycling has a ton of benefits including reducing landfill waste, reusing natural resources and reducing pollution. Americans have been urged to recycle for generations now, but that doesn't mean that they're doing it correctly. When it comes to getting rid of metal products like aluminum cans, foil or steel, there are a number of mistakes that can make your good deed less helpful.

The first thing to remember is that this is a mistake plenty of people make, because while we're told we should recycle, there's less information about how to prep materials for the recycling process. Metal products are one of the most recyclable materials out there, and according to the American and Iron Steel Institute more than 90% of steel products can be recycled. That means everything from aluminum foil, to pots and pans and even small appliances can be recycled. 

While all of these items can be recycled it takes a few minutes of prepping these items for the process. That way the materials can be properly reused in manufacturing for a variety of new uses including cars, building materials and home appliances. Since steel doesn't degrade during the recycling process, it gets a whole second life... as long as it was properly prepped before being put out on the curb.

Here are some easy tips to follow when recycling to make sure you're always on the right page. 

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Which sorts of metal cans can be recycled?

All metal cans are recyclable, if they've been cleaned. Examples include:

• Beverage cans, like soda and beer, including the tabs
• Paint cans
• Canned goods
• Aerosol cans

Cleaning metal cans

Don't do this: Toss cans into the recycling bin before cleaning. If foods or liquids are left in the cans, they can contaminate an entire batch of recyclables, rendering them useless. Unrinsed cans can also attract roaches, rodents and other nasty critters that you don't want crawling around your bins.

Do this instead: Make sure all cans are clear of liquids or foods that could be left in the container. You can do this by rinsing the can when you're finished with it.

What to do with the lids

Canned goods: Don't remove the lid only halfway before placing it into the recycling bin. Instead, completely remove the lid from the can and place it inside the can (after rinsing). Only place lids inside an empty can made of the same metal material.

Aerosol cans: Lids on aerosol cans are typically plastic, so you should remove those before putting the cans into the bin. The plastic lids should go with other plastic recyclables, as the heat applied during the metal recycling process will completely destroy any plastic recyclable mixed into the batch.

Do I need to remove paper labels before recycling cans?

Generally, you don't need to remove paper labels from metal or aluminum cans before you chuck them in the recycling bin. When the cans are recycled, the heat applied to the metal burns away the paper and the adhesive glue entirely, meaning there's no worry that your contributions might contaminate the batch.

However, there are other cases in which you might want to remove the paper labels before you recycle something. You can take these labels off of your metal cans and toss them in with your paper recycling if you don't like the idea of the labels getting turned to ash in the recycling process. More importantly, you do have to remove the paper labels if you're recycling plastics, because the recycling process for metals and plastics is different.

When in doubt, it's best to contact your local recycling facility. One Reddit user familiar with recycling facilities pointed out that, while the mechanics of recycling are important to understand, each recycling plant has their own unique machinery with different capabilities -- they aren't standardized, and so it's not simple to give a one-size-fits-all answer.

Making a quick call to your local plant will ensure that you know what can and can't be recycled, and what might contaminate a batch of recyclables.

What else should I do?

• Avoid puncturing aerosol cans to remove the remaining liquid.
• Make sure all paint is either dry or completely rinsed out before recycling. If you have leftover paint or other hazardous waste, take it to a drop-off center near you.
• Don't crush aluminum cans before recycling because they can contaminate the batch.

For more recycling information, here's how to properly recycle plastic and the right way to recycle paper and cardboard.

Metal recycling FAQs

The ChatGPT 4o image generator is now available to everyone for free. In a post on X on March 31, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the AI image generation tool has "now rolled out to all free users!"

There's been a lot of buzz around the image generator recently as people have been using it to generate images in the style of Studio Ghibli animation. The rush to use the image generation tool in ChatGPT prompted Altman to say its servers "are melting" in a post on March 27.

Altman said at the time that image generation would be free, but that users would be limited to three images per day. Those who pay for ChatGPT for $20 a month for a standard subscription of $200 for a Pro subscription won't have that limit.

I tested the tool to create the lead image for this post. The ChatGPT app struggled a bit with a lost connection, but eventually generated an image of a ChatGPT flying over New York in less than five minutes.

The AI arms race heats up

OpenAI's move to widen the audience for ChatGPT further with its image generator marks the latest chapter in an increasingly heated competition among companies developing AI technology. In addition to plenty of startups in the US, China and other countries, there's Apple, Anthropic, Microsoft and Google, which just introduced Gemini 2.5, its latest AI model, a week ago. ChatGPT is estimated to have about 500 million weekly users, but other AI models are gaining ground.

In addition to improving their ability to handle tasks and solve problems, AI models are increasingly being asked to create content such as images and video. ChatGPT also has a feature to create videos called Sora, but that's still only available to paid accounts.

AI skeptics become users

Serena Huang, an AI consultant and author of The Inclusion Equation who holds a doctorate in economics, said she, too, was flooded with Ghibli images on her social media recently and has been thinking about the impact of widespread use of image generators like that of OpenAI.

"AI image generation is a powerful catalyst for enhanced productivity and innovation," she told CNET. "It can speed up the content creation process, enabling rapid development of marketing materials and potentially facilitating more engaging communications. Overall, the fun aspect of AI also helps with the adoption and can turn many AI skeptics into a user overnight."

That said, Huang noted that people should be concerned about the copyright complexities of AI-generated content, the energy consumption required to perform AI tasks, and the effects that image generation could have on creative industries, including lost jobs.

Huang said she expects other companies offering rudimentary image creation, like Microsoft Copilot, to likely up their game. "I anticipate significant advancements as the competition for users intensifies," she said.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today's Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Is it just me, or is the NYT Wordle puzzle on a run of super-tough words? Today's Wordle answer begins with a letter I don't often use, and smack in the middle of the word is one of the three rarest letters in the alphabet. Honestly, it's one I never, ever guess. (Want to know which letters are popularly used and which ones rarely come up? Check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words.) If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today's Wordle hints

Before we show you today's Wordle answer, we'll give you some hints. If you don't want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today's Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There are two vowels in today's Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: Start letter

Today's Wordle answer begins with the letter H.

Wordle hint No. 4: The eyes have it.

Today's Wordle answer describes the color of some people's eyes.

Wordle hint No. 5: Turn on the TV

Today's Wordle answer is the title of a 1960s sitcom about a maid.

TODAY'S WORDLE ANSWER

Today's Wordle answer is HAZEL.

Yesterday's Wordle answer

Yesterday's Wordle answer, April 6,  No. 1387 was VILLA. 

Recent Wordle answers

April 2, No. 1383: CURSE.

April 3, No. 1384: SHEAR

April 4, No. 1385: KRILL

April 5, No. 1386: FOAMY

What's the best Wordle starting word?

Don't be afraid to use our tip sheet ranking all the letters in the alphabet by frequency of uses. In short, you want starter words that lean heavy on E, A and R, and don't contain Z, J and Q. 

Some solid starter words to try:

ADIEU

TRAIN

CLOSE

STARE

NOISE

Spring cleaning isn't just for tidying your house -- it's also the perfect time to clean up your Gmail inbox. If you've gotten the dreaded "Account storage is full" notification or your inbox is more than 80% full, you might want to get rid of some old messages. But where do you start? You'll probably have to sort through thousands of unread emails and decide what to delete.

If the idea of cleaning out your inbox feels overwhelming, you might want to give up and start paying for extra Gmail storage. But we have good news: You can get back 15GB of free storage while keeping all of your old emails and it won't cost you a penny.

All you need to do is create a second Gmail account to store all of your current messages. There's no restriction on the number of free Google accounts you can own, which means you can set one up as a dedicated archive account and then transfer all of your old emails to it. 

Transferring your Gmail messages is also a great strategy if you have a school or business Gmail account that you won't be able to access permanently. Most universities and businesses will deactivate your account once you are no longer a student or employee so if you want to view your old messages and files, you'll have to port them to a personal account before you lose access.

Completing the whole process of transferring your Gmail messages to a new account doesn't take too long but it will depend on just how many messages you have. We'll walk you through the simple process of transferring your emails from your old account to a new one (including the important step of backing everything up first).

For more about Gmail, learn about its new AI summaries or how to use emoji reactions.

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How much data can you store on Gmail? 

Fifteen gigabytes of free storage may sound like a lot when you make a Gmail account but it gets filled up quickly. For starters, the 15GB isn't just used for email: It also includes the files you've saved in your Google Drive and Google Photos. 

If you frequently send or receive messages that contain large files such as videos, or if you find yourself uploading a lot of pictures and videos to your Google Photos, then it won't be long before you'll see the "Account storage is full" notification. This means that you will no longer be able to send or receive emails on this account, so you'll want to do something ASAP.

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The quickest solution is to upgrade to a Google One account. Even if you choose the least expensive plan -- 100GB for $20 a year -- you'll still end up paying money to store old emails that you might not even need anymore.

If you don't want to buy more storage, you can always delete your old emails. You can get back a surprising amount of storage space by putting large files in the trash. Gmail makes it easy for you to identify and delete files by size. Even so, that option might seem tedious; maybe you don't want to spend hours sifting through correspondence from a decade or more ago, deciding which memories to keep and which to get rid of forever. 

There's always the option to download large files to your desktop before you delete them from your Google account but at some point you'll probably run into the same issue with your local files and have to manage the storage space on your device.

This brings us to our "nuclear option:" Transferring all your emails to a new Gmail account.

How to transfer your Gmail messages to a new email account

Before you start the Gmail transfer process, we recommend that you back up your emails. You can do this by downloading your emails either to your computer or an external hard drive. You can delete the backup after you finish transferring the emails to your new account if you like but it's always a good idea to have an extra copy stored locally.

To back up your Gmail messages, go to Google Takeout. Using our test Gmail account that held about 75,000 messages, we got a download from Google Takeout in about 2 hours.

Once you've saved a copy of your emails, you're ready to begin transferring them. Here are the steps you need to take:

1. Start by logging into your original Gmail account, clicking the "gear" icon in the top right and clicking See all settings. 

2. Select the Forwarding POP/IMAP tab and then select the option Enable POP for all mail (POP stands for Post Office Protocol).

3. You'll have several options under When messages are accessed with POP. To automatically delete the emails from your original account after the transfer, select delete Gmail's copy.

4. Select Save Changes.

Now it's time to create your new account and transfer all your messages there: 

If you haven't already done so, create your brand new, inbox-zero Gmail account -- we'll call this your archive account. 

1. Login to your new archive account, click the gear icon at the top and select See all settings. 

2. Select the Accounts and Import tab at the top, then select Add a mail account next to Check mail from other accounts.

3. In the pop-up window, enter the name of your original Gmail account. Select Next. 

4. Select Import emails from my other account (POP3) and select Next again.

5. Enter the password of your original Gmail account. You might also be required to create a Google app password (see note below). 

6. Select 995 under Port.

7. Check these 3 boxes: Always use a secure connection (SSL) when retrieving mail, Label incoming messages, Archive incoming messages (Skip the Inbox)

8. Select Add Account.

You'll probably need to create a Google app password to transfer Gmail messages

We tested this Gmail message transfer process twice and both times the standard password for the Gmail accounts did not work. After a bit of research, we determined that we'd need to create a temporary "app password" to sync the accounts.

Google app passwords are 16-digit passcodes created for "less secure" apps or devices to access your Google account. They work exactly like your Google password.

If your regular Google password doesn't work for syncing Gmail accounts, visit https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords to create an app password. Simply create a name for the password -- we used "Transfer Bulk Email" -- and then hit the Create button. You'll get a pop-up window with your new 16-digit passcode.

Once you've created the app password, return to step 6 of the instructions above and use that new app password instead of your usual password.

Important: Google will only display your app password once. After you've created it, you can't ask to see it again so be sure to write it down or otherwise record it after it's been created. 

Google's own Help Center mentions that "app passwords aren't recommended and are unnecessary in most cases." So once you've completed transferring your Gmail messages, we recommend deleting your app password.

What happens after my Gmail accounts are synced?

Once you've successfully linked your new Gmail archive account to your original account, your emails should begin to transfer automatically. The process could take several hours or days, depending on how many emails you have.

In our test account with about 75,000 messages, we found that it took Gmail about 2 full days to transfer all of them from the original account to the new archived mail account.

Important: After transferring your Gmail messages to your archived mail account, your original Gmail account will place all those messages in the Trash folder, which you'll need to empty manually. Clearing out those 75,000 messages from the Trash took about an hour.

Before transferring Gmail messages, our test account was using a little more than 12GB, or 80%, of Google's free 15GB. After transferring, the account was only using 0.66GB, of which 0.06GB was from Gmail.

What Gmail messages won't be transferred? 

We found that Gmail transferred all of our messages except for two categories -- Drafts and Spam. 

You'll need to decide what to do with your Drafts manually. Spam messages are automatically deleted every 30 days so you can let Gmail handle that or go into the Spam folder yourself after transferring your mail and delete or forward those messages.

Once all of your emails have been imported to your new account, enjoy the experience of inbox zero. You've given your original account a new lease on life. 

At this point, there are two last steps: You'll want to stop the automatic transfer process so that you can continue using your original account and you'll want to delete that app password if you had to make one.

1. Login to your new account, go into your Settings and select See all settings.

2. Select the Accounts and Import tab, and then select delete for your original account (under Check mail from other accounts.)

3. When prompted to Confirm delete mail account, select OK. 

If you had to create a Google app password and want to delete it now, go back to https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords and click the trashcan icon next to the password you created.

Congrats, you're finished.

One important final note: Google will delete accounts that have been inactive for more than two years. So make sure you don't completely ignore all your old emails after transferring them. If you don't plan to regularly use your archive account to send email, you can still keep the account active by signing in at least once every two years.