Is Recycling Copper Good for the Environment?
Although some environmentalists have raised questions about whether recycling metals is good for the environment, reusing nonrenewable resources like copper keeps the metal in circulation and prevents it from sitting permanently in a landfill. Copper is one of the most common metals produced, used in electrical, plumbing, construction and decorative industries. Currently, nearly as much copper is reused as is produced every year, making copper one of the most sustainable metals we use today.
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Air Pollution from Recycling
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The primary problem with recycling scrap metal is pollutants released into the air from the recycling process. Copper alloys, consisting of copper and complementary metals like beryllium, can release fumes into the atmosphere when melted. The recycling process of these metals must take these fumes into account when melting down the metals to ensure that the atmosphere is not polluted even as the metals are reclaimed.
Reusing instead of Producing
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The same copper from today's pennies could theoretically have been handled by ancient Egyptians. Copper has an infinite recyclable life. Copper.org suggests that the copper used in pennies today might be the same copper handled by ancient Egyptians, because copper can be recycled over and over again. Most of the copper we use today was mined many years ago because it is so easily recycled. Nearly as much copper is recycled every year as is mined.
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Keeping Nonrenewable Resources in Use
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Even though we haven't come even close to mining all the world's copper resources, the metal remains a finite resource: we could run out eventually. By reusing the copper we have, instead of locking it away in a landfill, we prolong the life of our copper resources. Recycling almost makes copper a renewable resource because the recycling process preserves the quality of the copper, maintaining 95 percent of the metal's value.
Recycling Uses Less Energy than Production
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The recycling process uses less energy than mining new copper, requiring less use of fossil fuels and therefore emitting fewer greenhouse gases into the air. Recycled metals require less treatment and do not have to be shipped as far. Copper is very easy to recycle, so the energy savings are even greater.
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- Photo Credit copper cable image by Witold Krasowski from Fotolia.com how clouds are made? image by David Batzner Jr. from Fotolia.com penny graph image by RT from Fotolia.com
