COPPER RECYCLING

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COPPER RECYCLING ASSESSING RECYCLING RATES IN THE
COPPER INDUSTRY
Scott R. Baker Director, Environment
Programme International Copper Association
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COPPER CYCLE
Product Cycles
Material Stock
In use
In earth
Resource Stock
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COPPER CYCLE
Wood/paper
Plastic
Copper
Resource
Renewable
Nonrenewable
Nonrenewable
Material recyclability
Nonrenewable
Renewable
Nonrenewable
Time scale of stock
Short (days)
Short-to-mid
Long (years)
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US RECYCLING CIRCUIT FOR COPPER
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US RECYCLING CIRCUIT FOR COPPER
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Flow Chart of Copper Usage Used Copper
REFINED COPPER USAGE
DIRECT USE SCRAP
circular scrap
WIRE ROD PRODUCTION
INGOT PROD.
imports / exports
WIRE MILLS - BRASS MILLS - CASTINGS -
OTHER (TOTAL COPPER USAGE)
MANUFACTURING
new scrap
FINAL USE - END USES
old scrap
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US AND WORLD COPPER SCRAP RESOURCE
WORLD
Copper content, million tons
US
Years
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US CONSUMPTION OF OLD AND NEW COPPER AND COPPER
ALLOY SCRAP
Thousand tons
NEW SCRAP
OLD SCRAP
Years
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SIMPLE COPPER CYCLE
PRIMARY PRODUCTION
PRIMARY PRODUCTS
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SIMPLE COPPER CYCLE
DATA COLLECTION
S1, S2 S3
SCRAP

• FRONT-END PROCESSES
• HIGH DATA COLLECTION

• BACK-END PROCESSES
• END OF LIFE
• LOW DATA COLLECTION
• WORSE FOR TRANSFORMATION PRODUCTS

• S3 PRODUCTS ARE
• UBIQUITOUS (ALL OVER THE WORLD)
• MOST VULNERABLE TO LANDFILL
• GREATEST COPPER RESERVOIR
• MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE FOR RESOURCE
• RECOVERY AND DEFENSE AGAINST
• RESOURCE DEPLETION

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US RECYCLING OF COPPER SCRAP

• S1 AND S2 TRACKED BY COMMODITIES MARKETS
• MARKETS HOLD THE US COPPER SCRAP RECYCLING
  ACTIVITY TOGETHER
• NOT WELL COORDINATED OR COMMUNICATED
• EOL POLICIES AND LEGISLATION SLOW TO EMERGE
  (TAKEBACK, PARTNERSHIP,
• DESIGN FOR CAPTURE)

SECONDARY PRODUCTION
TERTIARY PRODUCTION
QUATERNARY PRODUCTION
PRIMARY PRODUCTION
MINING REFINING
SMELTING
FABRICATING
MULTICOMPONENT MANUFACTURING
FINISHED PRODUCTS
INTERMEDIATE PRODUCTS
INTERMEDIATE PRODUCTS
PRIMARY PRODUCTS
END OF LIFE
LANDFILL
S3
S1
S2
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US RECYCLING OF COPPER SCRAP
2000
1999
SCRAP EXPORT SCRAP IMPORT INGOT PRODUCTION US
REFINED COPPER CONSUMPTION US REFINED
SCRAP COPPER IN OLD SCRAP OLD COPPER IN ALL
SCRAP NEW COPPER IN ALL SCRAP COPPER IN TOTAL
US SCRAP TOTAL CONSUMPTION (ALL SCRAP) ALL SCRAP
IN CONSUMPTION NEW SCRAP IN CONSUMPTION
315 136 145 3 MILLION 8 381,000 29 71 1.3
MILLION 4 MILLION 33 24
480 146 -- 3 MILLION 7 334,000 25 75 1.3
MILLION 4 MILLION 33 24
METRIC TONS METRIC TONS METRIC TONS METRIC
TONS METRIC TONS METRIC TONS
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WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

• Qualify stocks and flows
• Quantify the size of stocks and flows
• Identify strategic hot spots
• Clearly document legitimate methods for
  calculating
• recycle rate
• Obtain better end-use recycle data
• Coordinate/consolidate database development
  efforts
• Engage in multimetal collaboration

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WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

• Qualify stocks and flows
• Macro-scale (global)
• Meso-scale (regional)
• Micro-scale (local)

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WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

• Quantify the sizes of stocks and flows
• EOL inventories of 10 major urban centers
• 20-50 definable stocks at the regional
  commodity scale
• By copper grade
• By application
• Database development
• Multimetal coordination
• Web-based database
• Coordinate with production/consumption
  databases
• GIS applications

• Identify strategic hot spots
• Priorities, obstacles, product stewardship
  orientation

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WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

• Clearly document legitimate allocation methods
  for calculating recycling rate
• No allocation method
• Economic allocation method
• Economic-value allocation method
• Open loop as closed loop allocation method
• Karlsson method

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CONCLUSIONS

• Copper is a resource above and below the ground
• Copper is still growing in use
• Will be pulling it out of the ground for a
  long time
• Requires modeling and judging the worth of
  managing
• the resource in reasonable ways
• Need for systematic collection of downstream
  scrap and
• recycle data
• Need for documentation of methods for recycle
  rate
• determination
• Need for better communication through the
  copper
• supply-demand chain