Why Is Copper Recycling Becoming Increasingly Profitable?

Have you noticed? The elderly people in our neighborhood who collect recyclable materials always seem to be competing for discarded electrical wires and old air conditioners; and when construction workers remove wiring during renovations, they always collect the copper wires separately. These seemingly insignificant details reveal the potential value of scrap copper. So, why is copper recycling becoming increasingly profitable? Let’s explore this together.

Copper Prices Continue to Climb

Over the past three years, international copper prices have surged, rising by more than 40%, peaking at over $10,000 per ton. There are two main reasons behind this:

✅New energy sources are extremely copper-intensive.

An electric car uses four times the amount of copper as a regular car, a large wind turbine requires several tons of copper, and photovoltaic power generation also relies heavily on it. As the world accelerates the development of clean energy, the demand for copper is surging.

✅Copper mines are becoming increasingly difficult to find.

Easy-to-mine copper deposits are becoming increasingly scarce, and building a new mine can easily take more than ten years from exploration to production. Furthermore, strikes and community disputes frequently occur in major copper-producing countries like Chile and Peru, further tightening the copper supply.

With rising copper prices, scrap copper has also become more valuable. Last year, a kilogram of decent scrap copper wire could sell for over 60 yuan, almost double the price five years ago.

Copper Is Everywhere

You may not realize it, but many seemingly insignificant old objects in our daily lives actually contain a considerable amount of copper. Here are a few examples:

✅Kitchen: Old water heaters contain 3-5 kilograms of copper pipes, and discarded soy milk makers have copper coils in their motors.

✅Living room: An old air conditioner can yield 8-10 kilograms of copper after disassembly, and the transformers in LCD TVs also contain copper.

✅Study: Desktop computer power supplies and heat sinks contain copper, and network cables and power cords are also “carriers of copper.”

✅Garage: The motors of discarded electric vehicles are veritable “copper mines,” and charging stations are filled with copper busbars.

It’s particularly worth noting that the copper in these discarded appliances is of very high purity. The copper pipes in air conditioners have a purity exceeding 99%, and the copper content in electrical cables is also above 97%, meaning it can be almost directly melted down and reused.

The Value of Secondary Use

Many people think that copper recycling is simply collecting scrap metal and selling it for money, but it’s actually more like “resource regeneration,” with benefits in many areas:

It’s profitable

The production cost of recycled copper is 30%-40% lower than mining and smelting new copper. When the market was good last year, recycling one ton of scrap copper could earn three to five thousand yuan. Large recycling companies can process tens of thousands of tons a year, resulting in very substantial profits.

It’s environmentally friendly

✅Energy saving

The amount of coal used to produce one ton of recycled copper is only about 15% of that used to mine and smelt new copper.

✅Reduced carbon emissions

Recycling one ton of copper can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 3.5 tons.

✅Less pollution

By not opening new mines, it avoids the environmental damage caused by tailings and wastewater.

It has strategic significance for the country

China’s domestic copper production is insufficient to meet demand, with more than 70% relying on imports. Recycled copper contributes more than 30% of the domestic copper consumption each year, effectively securing a portion of this resource for the country.

Today, people are replacing their phones and home appliances at an increasingly rapid pace, with over 200 million appliances discarded in China every year. These appliances contain a wealth of high-quality “urban minerals”—their copper content is even higher than that of natural ores.

So, next time you dispose of old appliances, pay attention to those unassuming copper parts. They can not only help you recoup some money but also make an important contribution to our green lifestyle.

At Gomine, we have a very mature system for copper scrap recycling. We have different types of machines to handle varying quantities of copper scrap. If you have a need for copper scrap processing, please feel to contact us anytime. We will customize a solution specifically for you.