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Copper and zinc recycling in Australia: potential quantities and policy options
- Title
- Copper and zinc recycling in Australia: potential quantities and policy options
- Author(s)
- D. Van Beers
- Amit Kapur
- Thomas E. Graedel
- Year
- 2007
- Type
- Journal Article
- Source
-
Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 15, Pages 862-877
- Abstract
- This paper presents relevant data for industry and governmental policy makers with the aim of increasing the recycling rate of end-of-life copper
and zinc in Australia in a technically and economically feasible way. The methodology used to quantify and spatially distribute end-of-life flows of
copper and zinc is based on existing and anticipated in-use stocks, their residence times, and their historical and anticipated future evolution. Australia
currently (ca. 2000) generates about 72 Gg/year and 57 Gg/year of end-of-life copper and zinc, respectively. Some 70% of all discarded copper
and 40% of all discarded zinc generated in Australia are currently being recycled. A detailed assessment shows that about 75% of all end-of-life
material in Australia comes from the three states New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. In Australia, about 70e75% of waste copper and
waste zinc is generated in urban areas. Residential applications account for about 40% (copper) and 60% (zinc) of the generated discards; commercial
and industrial applications account for the remainder. By 2030, the discard flows are predicted to increase by about 105% and 155%, to 150 Gg
Cu/year and 145 Gg Zn/year, providing substantially increased opportunities for recovery and re-use. Priority targets for the improvement of copper
and zinc recycling in Australia are buildings under renovation, urban infrastructure, the transportation sector, and also consumer and business
durables. Urban centres are particularly attractive locations for recycling facilities, especially in Perth and Adelaide.
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