Understanding the Regenerated Copper Industry in One Read!

1、What is recycled copper?

Did you know, where do air conditioners, televisions, washing machines and other household appliances, and scrapped cars go? In fact, these products contain a large amount of copper material, which is recycled, processed, and reused, known as recycled copper. Copper is recycled, processed, and reused, known as recycled copper.

Developed countries have established a complete recycling system for recycled copper. For example, the proportion of recycled copper production in the United States is 60%, and in Germany it is 80%. For China, which already has a shortage of copper resources, the development of the recycled copper industry is of great significance.

2. Copper and recycled copper

Copper is one of the earliest metals discovered and used by humans. It is a permanent material with a long service life. In China, copper is widely used in various aspects of people's daily lives, national economic construction, national defense construction, and social development.

China is the world's largest producer and consumer of copper, but due to the lack of copper ore reserves in China, China's dependence on foreign copper has remained at a high level of 75% in recent years. Inadequate mineral resource supply has become an important constraint factor for China's sustainable development. The development of recycled copper is an important part of solving China's shortage of copper resources, practicing energy conservation and emission reduction, helping to achieve carbon neutrality, protecting the ecological environment, and sharing ecological benefits.

3. Recycled copper is around us

In China's existing 124 industries, 113 sectors use copper products, such as square magnet wire. The development of the copper industry has greatly supported the construction of China's industrialization and urbanization. Copper and recycled copper are important basic raw materials, widely used in the fields of power, electronics, electrical, mechanical manufacturing, construction, and national defense industries.

4. Why does China need to develop recycled copper?

Copper, like copper bus bar strip, is one of the few metals that can be recycled repeatedly, and its biggest advantage compared with other metals is that it can be 100% recycled.

In fact, there is no difference in quality and performance between recycled copper and traditionally smelted copper. China regards the development of recycled copper recycling as an important means to supplement the shortage of copper resources. In recent years, it has achieved rapid development. The development of recycled copper recycling is also conducive to promoting energy conservation and emission reduction, reducing unit energy consumption, and reducing carbon emissions.

China's recycled copper industry has formed a relatively complete industrial system after rapid development in recent years. From the perspective of output scale, the overall output of China's recycled copper industry has shown a steady upward trend from 2015-2020. In 2020, despite the impact of the epidemic, the output of recycled copper still reached 3.25 million tons, accounting for 32.4% of the copper supply.