With a squeeze on supplies of copper, manufacturers of everything from cable to cars are increasingly using recycled scrap to meet the demands of the future.
Recycling copper is not new of course. Copper can be recycled indefinitely without losing its value or performance. Every ton of copper that is recycled means some 200 tons of rock that won’t need to be mined, though the amount depends on how rich the ore is.
It’s estimated that roughly two-thirds of all the copper produced in the last century is still in use, but new technologies, insatiable demand and the embrace of what is being called “the circular economy” is likely to see the rate of recovery and re-use soar.
Nexans in Montreal, one of the world’s largest wire and cable manufacturers, is typical. The Canadian company has made copper rod—the raw material for copper wire—from ore for nearly a century, but now makes more and more of it from used copper, with the rods containing some 14% of recycled metal. It wants to get to 20%.
Australian firm Aus Metals Recycling is equally upbeat. It says recycling uses significantly less energy than mining and reduces the environmental footprint, with recycled copper cheaper than newly mined copper.
Colin Williams, program coordinator for the USGS Mineral Resources Program, recently told the media that companies should recycle more of the copper that is already out there, taking advantage of what is, effectively, the “urban mine.”
“It increases the supply available,” he said. “… It reduces the energy and environmental impacts associated with new mining by being able to reuse material we’ve already mined. It’s an important step.”
Nexans: https://www.nexans.com/impact/environment/circular-economy/