Recycled content becomes increasingly relevant for end users. It serves as a mechanism to secure long-term copper supply and it improves ESG credentials. According to standards ISO 14021 [1] and CEN EN 45557 [2], recycled content consists of pre-consumer and post-consumer material. Crucial is to make a distinction between these two material streams which have rather different characteristics:
Additionality: pre-consumer materials are already well recycled through fabricators. Because of the short-term nature of this loop, fabricators agree take-back schemes with their customers and processing pre-consumer material becomes an inherent part of material sourcing. Post-consumer materials on the other hand leave the copper supply chain to remain in use for decades, after which they come back in a wide variety of complex forms.
Availability: both pre- and post-consumer materials are, by their very nature, limited supply markets. Over the past decade, they have provided 8-10 Mtpa of copper supply, equivalent to a third of global copper use [3].
Closed-loop recycling: this makes most sense for pre-consumer materials where it is even a must when considering copper's 400+ alloy materials. For post-consumer materials, closed-loop recycling may lead to additional logistic operations without necessarily adding economic value or improving sustainability.
Co-products: only the processing of complex post-consumer scrap comes with co-products [4].
Energy and emission savings: processing post-consumer material is more complex, and hence requires more energy and emissions compared to pre-consumer materials [5].
Improvement potential: according to [3], the supply for pre-consumer material has remained more or less constant since 2005, whereas post-consumer materials are growing slightly. For the latter, more could be done, e.g. through better collection or adding more capacity for complex e-waste processing.
Sampling and safety considerations: pre-consumer materials will be much better characterised than complex post-consumer materials with uncertain material content. Not only copper content matters in these materials, but also the other materials present in the secondary material. These are sometimes valuable, such as precious metals, or sometimes deleterious.
In summary, pre-consumer materials are part of the copper supply chain's responsible sourcing strategy. They operate in a closed loop and save energy and emissions compared to primary production. But additionallity can sometimes be questioned since recycling pre-consumer material is an inherent part of the business model for operating a fabricator.
The additionallity of recycling post-consumer materials is unquestionable. However, the business model for operating a complex secondary smelter is challenging. Sourcing materials needs careful planning. The copper melt acts as a vehicle to recover a variety of other materials, which are often critical materials, but the presence of some of the other metals comes with ESG challenges.
A balanced sourcing strategy needs to weigh the characteristics of primary, pre-consumer and post-consumer copper resources against an organization's ESG objectives.
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[1] https://www.evs.ee/en/evs-en-iso-14021-2016-a1-2021-consolidated
[2] https://www.evs.ee/en/evs-en-45557-2020
[3] ICSG copper factbook 2023
[4] https://help.copper.fyi/hc/en-us/articles/4861559683218
[5] https://help.copper.fyi/hc/en-us/articles/4419840839698
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Last update: July 13, 2024
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