Aluminum is actually one of the most recyclable things we have. To the point where it's better, environmentally, to have single use aluminum cups that get recycled every time.
To be fair, I feel like that's kind of what the artist was hoping for. Would you be reading about his piece if some Philistine with no concept of what constitutes art hadn't thrown it away?
There was another story like this. The exhibit depicts an after party scene with champagne bottles and other party "trash" everywhere. It was placed in a room. The custodians thought there was a party earlier and promptly cleaned the room.
The labels on the cans were hand painted with acrylic, so there was more effort put in to this installation than if they just grabbed some beers at the local convenience store and dumped them out.
There's always someone arguing about the purity of art. Art doesn't have a strict set of rules. Anything can be art. Saying otherwise limits it's ability.
Saying anything is art doesn't make it art. If I throw a couple beer cans on the ground, that's not art just because I say it is, it's trash. In this particular case the artist hand painted the labels, which I wasn't aware of when I commented. So, this is art, despite the quirky presentation.