According to research conducted by the campaign group Recycle Your Electricals (RYE), the UK possesses 1.3 billion electrical items that have been discarded or left unused, including 627 million cables. These items may contain the solution to the country’s rapidly impending copper shortage, which is a result of rising demand.
Since copper is needed to make solar panels, wind turbines, electric cars, and other renewable energy sources, it is a key resource in the UK’s effort to decarbonize its economy.
The demand for copper is rising as a result of the Conservative government’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 68% by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050.
However, further research by Bloomberg Intelligence reveals that all of the shallow, simple-to-extract copper deposits have been mined out, leading to a widening disparity between supply and demand for copper.
The experts predict that by 2033, there will be a 6.5 million tonne gap between supply and demand due to a lack of mining resources and rising demand.
