The steel food can was invented in England in the early 1800s. The steel beer can was first produced in 1938. The steel can is often called a tin can because of the thin layer of tin applied to the can's inner and outer surfaces.
Tin is used to protect food and beverage flavors and to prevent rusting.
Steel cans are made from tinplate steel which is produced in basic oxygen furnaces. Due to changes in steel-making, an increasing amount of steel cans are tin free. These cans use a chromium ash to achieve the same results as tin. The average weight of a steel can is 2.5 ounces. Through recycling each year, the steel industry saves enough energy to power 18 million homes.