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Knowing about Copper Recycling

1/5/2012

8 Comments

 
Copper recycling has been around for hundreds of years, even starting from the Middle Ages. During those times, bronze cannons were melted and reused for other items. Even old church bells were recycled to be used as cannon. Copper is the third most recycled metal next to aluminum and iron. The most common use for copper is for electrical applications like wires and power cords because of its high conductivity and freedom from breaks even after production.

Before buying or selling scrap copper, be aware of the current rates so the sale will be worth it. A stripped coated wire has a higher value. Just be careful when using razor when pulling out the wires from their coating. Scrap copper also has different prices, depending on their quality. A new shiny clean copper has the higher price. Copper wires that have a decent thickness, no smudges of paint or solder are the next higher value. The one with the lowest value is the coated wires, meaning coaxial cables, phone cables that are just too difficult to strip. Sorting scrap copper before recycling is important, otherwise, the recycling center will rate it at the lowest value. 

There are several considerations in the copper recycling process. When the scrap copper is made up of only one alloy, it’s easier to melt and turn into a good quality product. If it’s contaminated or mixed with other materials, like solder, adjusting its composition in the final product will be more difficult, especially when copper buying wholesalers have certain quality specifications. If it’s just added tin or lead, the composition can still be adjusted to a particular level of quality. If the scrap copper has been contaminated to a much larger degree, the only way to turn it into an acceptable quality is to refine it back to pure copper with the use of metal refining techniques.  In copper recycling, higher quality copper goes through a furnace where it’s melted and turned into ingots and billets, while lower quality copper is first refined through electroplating in a sulphuric acid bath.

8 Comments
Chris Machuga
2/21/2013 04:55:27 am

If contaminated copper is worth less, what is the general percentage of discount it would received as opposed to pure copper?

Reply
esd products link
9/25/2013 12:28:47 am

I liked the way you put together everything, there is certainly no need to go any further to look for any additional information. You mentioned each and everything that too with much of ease.
















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James Anderson link
4/26/2018 09:06:38 pm

It's great that you've mentioned how it is easier to melt scrap copper if it is made up of only one alloy. My brother has some spare copper wires at home that he got from repairing stuff and would like to have it recycled. I'll mention this to him and see if he can do it; otherwise, we'll have to get in touch with people who can do the recycling for us.

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Jody Briggs
3/15/2022 09:32:32 pm

Never sell your copper at this business they pay copper one for bare bright and argue with you telling Bare bright is number one copper. I understand Bear bright been greater than size of a pencil lead and shiny but they do not think this

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Max Jones link
4/26/2022 06:00:02 pm

Thanks for the info about copper recycling. I have copper sitting in my garage. I'll consider having the copper recycled.

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Braden Bills link
5/9/2022 07:50:52 am

I'm taking apart an old wall, and I'm not sure what to do about the wire. It's good thing that I can sell my wire to be recycled. Recycling everything seems like a good idea for the environment.

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Olivia Smart link
5/31/2022 09:44:05 am

Thank you for explaining how copper recycling has been around for centuries. I've been wondering if it we should look into recycling some of the copper we've found while renovating our house. It seems like it has been a smart thing to do for a long time.

Reply
Jessie Holloway link
8/9/2022 11:47:38 am

Thanks so much for explaining what kind of copper recycles best. My brother has been talking about recycling as much as he can, metals included. Knowing how easily copper can be recycled helps motivate me to start recycling.

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