1. Recycling copper scrap

In 1999, 30% of copper was recycled in France, 50% in Western Europe, 60% in the USA and 47% in Japan. Worldwide, however, only 40% is recycled. This relatively low rate is explained by the fact that copper in its applications has a long service life.

Energy consumption, which is 105 to 110 MJ/kg of copper to extract this metal from an ore, is only 20 to 25 MJ/kg to produce copper from scraps. Scrap is classified according to its copper content and impurities. The latter must be eliminated either by burning, which has the disadvantage of being polluting, or mechanically after grinding to a mesh size of 1 to 30 mm, depending on the case.