SMM, February 15:
This week, relevant authorities released the "Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of the Copper Industry (2025-2027)," which provides guidance on the utilisation of recycled resources:
In response to the above, various national departments have already initiated related work. For instance, starting in March 2024, local secondary resource utilisation enterprises will be encouraged to apply for compliance with the copper and aluminum scrap industry standard conditions. Near the end of the year, the Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilisation under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), in accordance with the management measures for announcements related to the "Standard Conditions for the Processing and Utilisation of Copper and Aluminum Scrap," plans to release the first batch of enterprises meeting the standard conditions. The publication of this list aligns with the goal of fostering a group of competitive copper scrap processing and utilisation enterprises and copper smelters utilising copper-containing recycled resources. The first batch includes a total of 26 enterprises, of which 12 are copper smelters, accounting for nearly half. From discussions with enterprises not yet on the compliance list, it was learned that applications for the second batch of compliant enterprises are already underway, and the second batch of the compliance list will be announced in 2025.
In terms of recycling and utilisation of secondary resources, the Ministry of Commerce also announced the evaluation results of pilot cities and enterprises for the recycling system of secondary resources by the end of 2024. After evaluation, pilot cities and enterprises for the recycling of waste home appliances in various provinces and cities were made public, covering 32 provincial and municipal regions and a total of 78 home appliance recycling enterprises. According to feedback from interviewed enterprises, after the Ministry of Commerce's evaluation results were released, they received corresponding national support. Subsequently, waste home appliance recycling enterprises will improve recycling efficiency, introduce more relevant policies, and increase the domestic recycling volume of waste home appliances, thereby providing more secondary copper raw material resources for the market.
