- Copper is the best non-precious metal conductor of electricity.
- The United States annually recycles enough copper to provide the copper content for 25,000 Statues of Liberty.
- Copper and copper alloy scrap provides almost half of the copper consumed in the United States each year.
- The United States provides more than 20% of the world supply of recovered copper.
- In 2012, the U.S. scrap industry processed (exports plus domestic recycled):
- 5.4 million metric tons of aluminum
- 2.0 million metric tons of copper
- 1.2 million metric tons of lead
- 240,000 metric tons of zinc
- 2 million tons of nickel/stainless steel
- The United States exported nearly $14 billion worth of nonferrous scrap to more than 90 countries in 2012, including China, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Belgium, India and Germany.
Sources: ISRI, AISI, BIR, USGS, USITC, and other industry sources.