Environment

Copper is the oldest metal used by man and has served a wide range of purposes over more than ten thousand years, from the oldest coins to today’s high technology in wind turbines. It is also 100% recyclable and this vital feature saves energy and helps to conserve natural resources. According to the International Copper Study Group³, 41% of the demand for copper in Europe each year is met through recycling.

Copper is a metal that is naturally present in the earth’s crust and is essential to the development of all forms of life. It is the oldest metal used by man, with the first copper coins dating from 8,700 B.C. Alloyed with tin, copper made the Bronze Age possible. Along with its excellent electrical conductivity, it then went on to play a key role during the second industrial revolution and, indeed, continues to do so today, particularly in the fields of energy, transport and new information technologies.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, world demand for copper has increased from half a million tonne in 1900 to 17.2 million in 2006. In 2005, 34% of the world’s copper usage was met by recycling and this figure was even higher – at 41% - in Europe. It is expected that, over time, the proportion of world copper usage derived from recycling will increase further.

• the extraction and processing (refining) of mineral ores, called ‘primary production’;
• the direct recycling of ‘new scrap’ (resulting from the manufacturing process and downstream value chain operations) and
• the recycling of end-of-life products, together called ‘secondary production’

The use of copper, which is extremely durable, helps to limit waste volumes. Ever since man first used copper, it has been recycled and turned into new products. Recycling has the obvious advantage of reducing the need for natural resources. It also decreases energy consumption (up to 85% compared to mining copper) and reduces waste disposal problems.

An additional benefit is that copper loses none of its properties in the recycling process. The copper coins in your pocket today may contain metal that was once used by the Romans for their decorations, or by the Egyptians for their water pipes! It is estimated that 80% of the copper used since antiquity is still in circulation today.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) expects that Europeans will generate 45% more waste in 2020 than they did in 1995. A part of this waste contains copper, especially electrical and electronic equipment (computers, mobile phones, etc.), with up to 20% of their weight in copper. ‘WEEE’ (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) is covered by a specific European Directive (Directive 2002/96/EC) which stipulates, for each EU member state, an average recovery objective of 4 kg/inhabitant/year.

In forthcoming issues of this newsletter, we will focus on the issue of the recycling of copper in the context of the revision of the WEEE Directive, on the place of copper in eco-design and on the reduced use of energy by Europe’s copper industry.

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³ 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