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Eco-Friendly Copper

Copper as a Material for the Environmentally-Conscious

The recycling process for copper has already become especially advanced due to its high scrap value and in the future as effective utilization of limited resources become more important, the use of eco-friendly copper is expected to continue to grow progressively.

Highly Recyclable Valuable Metal

Due to its high scrap value, used copper and copper alloys are aggressively collected and recycled. For example, copper scrap generated in the processing of parts is nearly100% reused by wire and other copper product manufacturers. Discarded electric wires are also almost 100% recycled. Wire of good quality is used efficiently by wire and other copper product manufacturers, and plated wire is used by copper product and casting manufacturers. Although disposal of some materials is costly, copper is suitable for recycling because it can be collected and recycled as a valuable metal.

Eco and People-Friendly Copper

Several different types of pipe, including PVC and stainless steel pipes, are commonly used for water and hot water supply piping. Copper pipe is durable and easy to recycle, and also emits only a small amount of carbon dioxide(CO2)throughout the manufacturing and construction process.

Comparison in CO2 Emissions by Piping Material

Pipe type CO2 intensity
[kg-C/kg]
Weight per
unit length
[kg/m](20A)
CO2 emissions per
unit length
[kg-C/m]
Carbon steel pipe for ordinary piping 0.89 1.68 1.50
Hard polyvinyl chloride lined steel pipe 0.61 1.82 1.11
Stainless steel pipe 1.62 0.529 0.86
Copper pipe (Type M) 1.30 0.487 0.63

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has reported in research studies that most PVC pipes release substances suspected of being environmental endocrine disruptors (Bisphenol A and others). However, copper pipes contain no endocrine disruptors. Eco-friendly copper pipes are people-friendly and safe for use.