Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Copper and Waste and recycling

Copper can be recycled repeatedly without losing quality, so scrap supplies about a third of world copper use; for recyclers copper is the most valuable metal in cables, motors and e-waste, and for India imported scrap fills the gap between domestic collection and its secondary rod plants.

Copper (commodity) and Waste and recycling (industry): 3 relationships.

How they are linked

1. Industry input

Physical flow · Strong · Copper to waste and recycling

Copper in wiring, motors and circuit boards is the main value in much scrap and e-waste, so recyclers' revenue depends on recovering it; the site rates copper 4 of 5 on criticality for battery and e-waste recyclers.

  • 4 of 5 criticality for battery and e-waste recyclers
  • US$19 billion value of copper in world e-waste, 2022

Copper in world e-waste was worth about US$19 billion of the US$91 billion of metals it contained in 2022, more than the US$15 billion of gold. Scrap processors and traders, rated 3 of 5, earn the spread between what they pay for scrap and what smelters and fabricators pay, so scrap discounts to refined copper drive their margins.

Enterprise types that depend on it:

  • Battery and e-waste recyclers: wiring and boards (criticality 4 of 5)
  • Scrap-metal processors and traders: copper scrap (criticality 3 of 5)

Sources: Material Insights; UNITAR

2. Scrap supply

Physical flow · Strong · Recycled scrap returns copper to the market

Copper keeps its properties through remelting, so production scrap and end-of-life products are melted directly into products or refined again into cathode, displacing mined metal.

  • 32% of world copper use from recycled copper, 2018
  • about 30% of US copper supply from scrap, 2025
  • 5.8% growth in world secondary refined output, 2025

Secondary output was only about 17% of world refined production in the ICSG's 2020 Factbook, but much more scrap is melted directly by fabricators, which is why recycled copper met about a third of use in 2018. In 2025 secondary refined output grew 5.8% against 3.9% for primary. In the United States, new scrap from fabrication supplied about 760,000 tonnes in 2025 against about 160,000 tonnes from old scrap, so most recycling there is still of factory offcuts rather than discarded products.

Sources: USGS; International Copper Study Group; BigMint (ICSG data)

3. India scrap import policy

Policy · High in India · India's trade policy draws copper scrap into its recycling industry

Domestic scrap collection has not kept pace with India's secondary copper rod and ingot capacity, so India removed import duty on copper scrap to let recyclers buy abroad.

  • nil basic customs duty on copper and other non-ferrous scrap, Budget 2025-26
  • 504 kt domestic end-of-life and process scrap used in India, FY25
  • 214 kt imported copper scrap used in India, FY25

The 2025-26 Budget cut the basic customs duty on non-ferrous scrap, including copper, to nil, while aluminium scrap kept a 2.5% levy, according to the Material Recycling Association of India. Indian buyers now draw scrap from regions such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and East Africa.

Sources: The Tribune (International Copper Association India data); Recycling Today; Shanghai Metals Market

For investors

Key learnings

  1. Recycled copper met about a third of world use in 2018, so scrap availability and the scrap to refined discount shape smelter and fabricator margins.
  2. Secondary refined output grew faster than primary in 2025, 5.8% against 3.9%, so recycling is taking share of refined supply.
  3. India's nil duty on copper scrap and growing secondary rod capacity make it a rising competitor for internationally traded scrap.

What to track

  • Copper scrap discount to LME cathode: A narrowing discount signals scrap shortage and pressure on secondary smelters (Weekly · Fastmarkets, SMM, BigMint)
  • India copper scrap imports: Rising imports show domestic collection lagging recycler demand (Monthly · Commerce ministry TradeStat)
  • World secondary refined copper output: Shows recycling's share of new supply (Monthly · ICSG)

For policymakers

Key learnings

  1. India used about 504 kt of domestic scrap and 214 kt of imported scrap in FY25, so recycling already supplies a large part of its copper.
  2. Nil import duty helps recyclers, but domestic collection from cables, motors and e-waste is the lasting fix, since imported scrap depends on other countries' export rules and prices.
  3. Formal e-waste and end-of-life vehicle recycling would raise the share of old scrap, which is small even in the United States.

What to track

  • India domestic and imported scrap use: Shows whether domestic collection is catching up with recycling capacity (Annual · International Copper Association India)
  • Customs duty and quality rules on scrap: Changes alter recycler costs and import flows (Each Budget · CBIC, BIS)

India

India used about 504 kt of domestic copper scrap and 214 kt of imported scrap in FY25 and cut the import duty on copper scrap to nil in Budget 2025-26, because domestic collection lags its secondary rod and ingot plants.

Sources

  1. Waste and recycling: materials, Material Insights (2026)
  2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Copper, USGS (2026)
  3. The World Copper Factbook 2020, International Copper Study Group (2020)
  4. Global copper surplus widens in CY25, India output up 19% on Adani ramp-up: ICSG, BigMint (ICSG data) (2026)
  5. India's copper demand rises 9.3 per cent in FY25; ICA calls for strategic reserves planning, The Tribune (International Copper Association India data) (2025)
  6. India's copper, lead scrap import levy dropped; aluminium not, says MRAI, Recycling Today (2025)
  7. Why is India emerging as an active buyer in the global copper scrap market? (SMM analysis), Shanghai Metals Market (2026)
  8. Global E-waste Monitor 2024: electronic waste rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling, UNITAR (2024)