To provide a structure of a can and a method for crushing the can, by which an empty can of an aluminum can or a steel can storing juice, tea or beer is made into a small volume, and efficiency of storing and recovery is improved.

In the aluminum can and the steel can including a cylindrical part 1, and a lid part 2 and bottom part 3 at the upper and lower ends, a recessed channel 4 with at least a semicircle is formed at a position at an interval (a) approximately corresponding to a radius of the cylindrical part 1 from the lid part 2 of the cylindrical part 1 to the bottom part 3, and a recessed channel 5 with at least a semicircle is formed on the same side as or the opposite side to the recessed channel 4 similarly at a position at an interval b approximately corresponding to the radius of the cylindrical part 1 from the bottom part 3 to the lid part 2 side. The empty can after use of the can like this is pressed in the radial direction between the recessed channels 4 and 5 of the cylindrical part 1 and is crushed into a flat shape, and the lid part 2 and the bottom part 3 bent from the recessed channel parts are pressed so as to pile them onto the flat crushed cylindrical part 1 to be crushed as a whole.