People are being urged not to throw their unwanted electrical goods away, as they might just help avert a copper shortage in future.
According to a survey from the charity Recycle Your Electricals, there is currently £266 million worth of the metal sitting unused in draws, enough to provide 30% of the copper needed for the UK’s ‘green transition’.
That trove might be worth even more in future as recent research has suggested the world faces a severe copper shortage within the next five to 10 years.
Demand for the metal is being tipped to grow at 2.5-3% a year as solar and wind farm building ramps up, yet there is not enough mining capacity to meet that need.
Throwing away cables is one of the biggest wastes of copper, according to the report, with approximately 823 million unused or broken tech items containing as much as 38,449 tonnes of copper.
That is reportedly enough to provide 30% of the copper needed for the UK’s planned transition to a decarbonised electricity grid by 2030.
Scott Butler from Recycle Your Electricals said: “If [cables or products] are binned or stashed, we lose everything inside them.
“Anything with a plug, battery or cable can be reused and recycled and there’s somewhere near you to do it.”
The Royal Society of Chemistry [RSC] has calculated that 347,000 tonnes of copper is needed for the wind turbines and solar panels planned by 2030.
Izzi Monk, RSC policy adviser for the environment, told the Guardian: “We are potentially facing imminent and substantial supply concerns where we won’t be able to meet the global demand for this vital material.”