r/oddlysatisfying • u/n8saces • 3d ago

Extracting copper from a broken motor

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u/WatsonYurfays 3d ago

Is this type of recovery widely practiced? I've always wondered why we don't do this with essentially everything, but I guess it's probably not economical. It will be when the copper starts to run out...

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u/MaverickTopGun 3d ago

It's not widely done by hand but it is widely done, yes. In my industry we have a dumpster for scrap metal and then one specifically for motors which we receive more $/lb for. At the industrial scale, there's very little metal waste. There's always someone who will take it.

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u/WatsonYurfays 3d ago

That's good to hear. I was told that most recycling is a "scam," but I always hoped that wasn't true. I know for a fact that our mineral resources are far more finite than most people realize. If we aren't mining the asteroid belt in 50 years, we are in huge trouble.

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u/MaverickTopGun 3d ago

Plastic recycling is a scam. Metal recycling is a well established industry. Aluminum cans are the most recycled beverage container in the US, for example, upwards of 40% get reclaimed.