Domestic electronics holding the secret to ending copper deficiency
In the heart of every household, there lies a significant yet untapped resource - copper. With an estimated 23 cables discarded or stored in each UK home, this humble metal, often found in electrical wiring, appliances, and electronics, presents a potential goldmine for enhanced recycling to meet the rising demand.
The call to action comes from initiatives like the Great Cable Challenge, launched by Recycle Your Electricals to coincide with International E-Waste Day on October 14. The aim is to encourage the recycling of 1 million cables, a move that could potentially meet the UK's annual demand for technology-grade copper.
The importance of this endeavour cannot be overstated, given that the UK uses between 250,000 and 280,000 tonnes of copper annually, with a significant portion finding its way into the automotive industry and consumer durables. However, if these items are discarded rather than recycled, a massive volume of copper is effectively lost.
Recycling copper from household cables can alleviate demand on virgin copper mining, decrease carbon emissions associated with extraction, and contribute to a circular economy in the UK. The country generates around 6 million metric tons of e-waste annually, containing valuable metals like copper, but only approximately 31.2% of e-waste is recycled, indicating scope for improvement.
Household waste recycling has increased in recent years, with a provisional recycling rate of 44.6% in 2023, but dry recycling (which includes metal recycling) saw a slight decline in volume, suggesting opportunities to boost metal collection and processing. Recovered copper from cables and electrical goods is crucial as it supports growing market demand fueled by consumption of electronics and infrastructure needs.
Scotland's circular economy strategy highlights the economic and environmental benefits of reusing and recycling electronics containing copper, including saving raw materials and jobs in remanufacturing. However, challenges in recycling electrical materials include the complex composition of electronic items and the need for advanced sorting, dismantling, and recovery technologies. Innovations such as automation, robotics, and hybrid recycling processes are improving copper and other metal recovery efficiency and quality.
The drive for copper recycling is further fuelled by predictions of severe copper shortages in the next 5-10 years due to depleted easy-to-extract copper deposits and challenges in securing social and environmental approvals for new mines. Grant Sporre, Senior Analyst in Metals and Mining at Bloomberg Intelligence, warns that the global gap between copper supply and demand could reach 6.5 million tonnes by 2033. Increasing the proportion of recycled copper to 50% could potentially meet the additional demand.
The global demand for copper is projected to grow at 2.5 to 3% per annum due to the building of renewable power generation and the switch from petrol and diesel cars to electric. This growth is further amplified by the need for copper in wind turbines and solar panels, with an estimated 347,000 tonnes needed by 2030. A third of this could be produced from recycled copper.
In light of these facts, the call to action is clear: Urban mining, or the recycling of unused or broken electricals, is crucial to protect the environment and value existing resources. The Great Cable Challenge serves as a reminder that every cable counts, and every household can contribute to a more sustainable future.
References:
[1] Recycle Your Electricals. (n.d.). The Great Cable Challenge. Retrieved from https://www.recycle-your-electricals.org.uk/the-great-cable-challenge/
[2] Recycle Your Electricals. (2023). Copper in electrical waste. Retrieved from https://www.recycle-your-electricals.org.uk/copper-in-electrical-waste/
[3] Recycle Your Electricals. (2023). The circular economy. Retrieved from https://www.recycle-your-electricals.org.uk/the-circular-economy/
[4] InfotecNEWS. (2023). Copper recycling in the UK: A growing necessity. Retrieved from https://www.infotecnews.co.uk/copper-recycling-in-the-uk-a-growing-necessity/
[5] Scottish Government. (2021). Scotland's circular economy strategy: Delivering our ambition. Retrieved from https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-circular-economy-strategy-delivering-our-ambition/
- Capitalizing on the untapped resource of copper discarded in households, individuals can support environmental-science initiatives like the Great Cable Challenge, fostering sustainable-living by recycling cable waste, a practice that contributes to decreasing carbon emissions and meeting the demand for technology-grade copper in the UK.
- Recycling home-and-garden electrical wiring and appliances can positively impact the UK's environmental-science objectives, as it supports a circular economy by decreasing the need for virgin copper mining, lowering carbon emissions, and preserving valuable resources like copper, which is essential for the progression of climate-change mitigation technologies.
- Given the increasing global demand for copper in renewable energy sources and sustainable living, recycling household cables plays a vital role in ensuring a sustainable future by supporting a circular economy, transitioning to a cleaner and greener economy, and preserving the environment for current and future generations.
