Copper – the hidden key ingredient
It’s hard to imagine a world without copper. Copper not only makes our homes, schools and businesses safe, functional, efficient, comfortable and decorative, but also gives years of reliable service. And – a further major plus - when it has reached the end of its useful life, it is 100% recyclable!
Although much of it is not visible, copper is everywhere in today’s homes and workplaces. Copper is the vital - but often hidden - ingredient that ensures that our homes and workplaces function safely, efficiently and comfortably.
Among non-precious metals, copper is the most efficient conductor of electricity and heat. It delivers current and heat to our homes and workplaces, ensuring distribution to wherever we may wish to use it, and provides easy access to a broad array of entertainment and communications systems.
But, because much of it is hidden behind the walls of our homes and offices in the form of metres of telephone lines, data and electrical cabling, we are not always aware of copper’s role in ensuring that the many appliances we now take for granted as everyday necessities actually work properly.
In addition, copper, due to its high resistance to corrosion and long-lasting properties, is also widely used for plumbing, heating, and air conditioning. This is also due, in part, to its anti-microbial properties, which can help inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, such as legionella.
However, not all copper’s uses in homes, offices or factories are hidden. Copper is a major constituent of taps, radiators and door handles, roofs and cladding, as well as facades, doors and window frames. It is used in its pure state or alloyed with tin to create bronze or with zinc to create brass. Builders, architects and designers choose this metal because of its malleability, resistance to corrosion, durability, as well as aesthetic properties.
In addition to its more functional uses, copper and its alloys are popular in interior design applications. At the recent Milan Triennial (29 November – 30 December 2007), the latest creations from some of the world’s most renowned designers, demonstrating the intrinsic and aesthetic potential of the ‘red’ metal, were showcased.
Once copper products have reached the end of what might be called their first lives, they can be recycled and used to make new products, making copper the ‘red’ metal that is ‘green’. Copper is an important part of a global, environmentally friendly approach to sustainable construction. In 2005, according to the International Copper Study Group1 , a substantial 41% of Europe’s copper usage was met by recycling. Building construction products, for example, typically contain more than 70% recycled content. Moreover, products made from copper are highly durable, with lives ranging from several years to as long as several centuries, depending upon the application.
The European copper industry promotes sustainable construction and welcomes initiatives which provide incentives to industry to develop more sustainable products and solutions. In this context, the Lead Markets Initiative, announced by the European Commission on 7 January 2008, would appear to be a positive one.
Copper is one of the few materials that does not decompose or lose its chemical or physical properties during the recycling process. This means that there is no difference between recycled copper and that extracted from a mine. It is thus a sustainable material par excellence making a vital and major contribution to building a sustainable future.
In future issues of this newsletter, we will look at copper’s role in the house of the future and architecture.
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1 The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) is an inter-governmental organisation, based in Lisbon, which publishes copper production and demand statistics. Website: www.icsg.org
