Non-Ferrous Copper Recycling Saves The Earth's Copper Supply For Future Generations

Industrial & Manufacturing Blog

Copper is an important metal for many industries. It's used to make electronics, electrical wiring, plumbing, jewelry, gutters, and other items used around your home. Copper is often used in small amounts in larger items, such as appliances, so it has to be extracted so it isn't wasted when the appliance is thrown out or recycled.

Copper is a non-ferrous metal, which means it doesn't have any iron in it, and it has to be separated from ferrous metal, such as steel, when recycled. Here's a look at non-ferrous copper recycling.

Why Copper Should Be Recycled

Recycling copper uses much less energy than mining new copper. Plus, recycling limits the need to mine more copper, and this saves the earth's resources. Copper can be recycled over and over, so it is a much better practice to keep collecting old copper and recycling it since the copper is still useful.

Also, gathering copper could create a side income for you since copper is one of the more valuable metals. Copper can be removed from construction materials and household items, although it is usually a small amount at a time. When enough copper is collected, you can take it to a recycling center and sell it for extra cash.

How Copper Is Graded

An important thing to learn when you start copper recycling is how to separate grades of copper so you make the most money. If you lump all your copper together, the recycling center may pay the entire lot at the price of the lowest grade.

The highest grade of copper that gets you the most money is copper that is in good condition and free of wiring insulation and oil coatings. You'll need to learn how to strip wires properly to get paid the most money.

If stripping wires is too tedious for you, you can still collect wiring and electrical cords and take them to the recycling center without stripping. However, copper with wiring insulation still on it is the lowest grade of copper, and it pays the least amount of money.

How Non-Ferrous Copper Recycling Is Done

If you've collected enough copper to take to the recycling center, you'll need to find a center that accepts and recycles copper. The first thing they need to do is separate the copper from wiring insulation, which is done by machine. They may also use methods such as sensors to separate copper from shreds of other metals and materials so the copper can be isolated and sent through the recycling process.

There are a few ways to recycle copper once it's been broken down into small pieces. The end goal is to form the copper into rods of raw copper that can be sold to various industries that need copper to build computers, make appliances, or create wiring and plumbing pipes. If you have copper, reach out to a recycling center like American Scrap Metal Services near you. 

14 December 2021