page_title: Copper in architecture
section_title: Recyclability
hierarchical_section_title: Copper in architecture / Benefits / Recyclability
caption_attribution_description: The former copper roofing from the Parliament Buildings has been reused as paneling in the Canadian War Museum.
context_page_description: Copper has earned a respected place in the related fields of architecture, building construction, and interior design. From cathedrals to castles and from homes to offices, copper is used for a variety of architectural elements, including roofs, flashings, gutters, downspouts, domes, spires, vaults, wall cladding, and building expansion joints.
  The history of copper in architecture can be linked to its durability, corrosion resistance, prestigious appearance, and ability to form complex shapes. For centuries, craftsmen and designers utilized these attributes to build aesthetically pleasing and long-lasting building systems.
  For the past quarter century, copper has been designed into a much wider range of buildings, incorporating new styles, varieties of colors, and different shapes and textures. Copper clad walls are a modern design element in both indoor and outdoor environments.
  Some of the world's most distinguished modern architects have relied on copper.
context_section_description: Recyclability is a key factor of a sustainable material. It reduces the need to mine new resources and requires less energy than mining. Copper and its alloys are virtually 100% recyclable and can be recycled infinitely without any loss of quality (i.e., copper does not degrade (i.e., downcycle) after each recycling loop as do most non-metallic materials, if they are recyclable at all). Copper retains much of its primary metal value: premium-grade scrap normally contains at least 95% of the value of primary metal from newly mined ore. Scrap values for competing materials range from about 60% down to 0%. And copper recycling requires only around 20% of the energy needed to extract and process primary metal.
  Currently, around 40% of Europe's annual copper demand and about 55% of copper used in architecture come from recycled sources. New copper coil and sheet often have 75%-100% recycled content.
  By 1985, more copper was recycled than the total amount of copper that was consumed in 1950. This is due to the relative ease of reusing processing waste and salvaging copper from products after their useful life.
  .
caption: Copper paneling in the Canadian War Museum was recycled from the old roof of the Parliament in Ottawa.
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D70s", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 7.4.1", "Image DateTime": "2008:03:23 21:53:04", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.5.2", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "256", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "628", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4380", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/160", "EXIF FNumber": "5/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Shutter Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:03:22 14:41:26", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:03:22 14:41:26", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "8/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Cloudy weather", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "50", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area"}