Copper Recycling

Many people are not aware that a high percentage of metal in his mobile phone is made of copper - a metal that can be recycled. If you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint, then you should adopt as many green practices as you can - and copper recycling your old mobile phone is definitely a good place to start. In addition, with global prices of copper and other metals soaring, it makes a lot of economic sense to recycle copper scrap mobile phones and other discarded appliances.

Copper Mines of your old mobile phone

Mobile phones in particular are virtual gold mines and copper mines "for the metal that has been widely used in them. The practice of recycling of metal from an old gadget is called" exploitation mining in urban areas.

Besides copper, old mobile phones can also give decent returns of other precious metals like gold, iridium and silver. The recycled metals are used in electronic devices and others are returned to the market of cool features. The importance of old mobile phones as a source of copper and other metals is evidenced by the amount extracted from a single device. A tonne of old mobile devices can often yield to 100 kg of copper - it is more copper than you can get from a ton of copper ore!

The recycling of copper in your phone reduces your carbon footprint

The scope of mobile phone recycling is particularly important in countries like Japan and Singapore, which has a limited amount of natural resources and often rely heavily on imports to meet its rapid economic development. Today, mobile users go mobile devices at an extremely fast because they are opting for newer models, so that the growing piles of electronic waste in urban areas has become a source of concern among many developing cities worldwide. The recycling of copper reduces the carbon footprint of this form of communication technology and decongestant. landfills in urban areas in major towns and cities are now overflowing and recycling is considered one of the major options that will solve this problem space and monetize landfills. Recycling electronics is an emerging industry and offers many avenues of income and employment, and copper production of many of these fledgling plants often rival that of small mines. In Europe, over 41% of demand for copper are covered by recycling alone.

The EU plans to introduce legislation in 2010 which will see local companies fined £ 200 for each tonne of waste that exceeds a preset limit. Copper is a natural resource and it only makes sense to make maximum use of what has already been extracted. As copper is durable and easy to recycle - this is not a mark of a smart economics for disposal in any landfill sites. There are other environmental benefits of recycling copper from your mobile phones and other gadgets. For example, the exploitation of copper from ore 100GJ/ton consumes more energy and generates toxic fumes of sulfur dioxide and dust, which puts enormous pressure on the environment. However, recycling is a relatively low energy process and also generates insignificant levels of emissions. Recycling reduces the environmental impact of copper mines and also keeps the cost of copper electronics to manageable levels.

Although mining in urban areas is undoubtedly a key player to reckon with, individuals are.