Copper from unused electricals could help power UK renewables boom

Stuart Stone
clock • 5 min read
Credit: Recycle Your Electricals
Image:

Credit: Recycle Your Electricals

Unused electrical items could provide almost a third of the copper needed by new wind and solar farms by 2030

An estimated 1.3 billion unused or binned electrical items, including 627 million cables, could help tackle a looming copper supply crunch that threatens to hamper the roll out of electric vehicles (EVs),...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Waste

Waste firms urge government to introduce deposit return scheme for vapes

Waste firms urge government to introduce deposit return scheme for vapes

Biffa and the Environmental Services Association (ESA) call for a deposit to be put on vapes to encourage people to dispose of them safely through approved recycling streams

clock 03 June 2026 • 4 min read
Consumer Goods Forum warns food waste remains 'high' despite member progress

Consumer Goods Forum warns food waste remains 'high' despite member progress

Consumer Goods Forum urges members of its Food Waste Coalition of Action to 'step up to the plate' on transparency and data collection following data showing food waste levels remain high

clock 29 May 2026 • 2 min read
SOJO's Josephine Philips: 'Meaningful change often happens through incremental improvements'

SOJO's Josephine Philips: 'Meaningful change often happens through incremental improvements'

CEO and founder of fashion-tech platform explains why repairing clothing is becoming an increasingly rare 'green skill' and why the biggest climate hack is simply buying less

Stuart Stone
clock 27 May 2026 • 5 min read