Copper rice, as copper particles separated from waste wires and cables through processing, its recycling and utilization is not only an effective way of waste disposal, but also demonstrates multiple values in resource protection, ecological conservation and economic development, becoming a key link in promoting sustainable development.

From the perspective of resource sustainability, copper, as a strategic scarce resource, the over-exploitation of primary mineral deposits has led to a sharp reduction in reserves and a surge in mining costs. Through sophisticated processing technologies, copper rice recycling can efficiently extract copper resources from waste cables and reintroduce them into the production chain, which can significantly reduce the dependence on primary copper mines. Data shows that the energy consumption in the production process of recycled copper is only 10%-15% of that of primary copper smelting, which is equivalent to saving about 1100 kWh of electricity and 200 tons of water resources for each ton of copper recycled, significantly extending the life cycle of copper resources.

In terms of ecological environment protection, the mining of primary copper mines requires stripping surface vegetation and excavating mines, while the smelting process will emit sulfur dioxide, heavy metal wastewater and other pollutants, causing irreversible damage to soil and water bodies. Modern copper rice recycling adopts dry separation technology, which realizes the separation of copper and plastic through physical processes such as crushing, screening and air separation, with no wastewater or exhaust gas emissions throughout the process. According to the monitoring of environmental protection departments, each ton of waste cables processed can reduce about 3 tons of solid waste landfill and more than 90% of pollutant emissions.

In terms of economic value, copper rice recycling has formed a complete industrial chain from front-end recycling, mid-end processing to back-end sales. The recycling cost of waste cables is only 30%-40% of that of primary copper mines. The high-purity copper rice (with a purity of up to 99.5% or more) produced after processing has a strong demand in the fields of electronic components and cable manufacturing, with a stable market price of about 50,000 yuan per ton. This industry has also created a large number of jobs. Only copper rice processing enterprises in East China have driven more than 100,000 jobs, with an annual total output value exceeding 20 billion yuan, becoming a new growth point of local economy.

As a typical practice of circular economy, copper rice recycling perfectly interprets the closed-loop model of "resource - product - waste - renewable resource". China generates about 5 million tons of waste cables every year. If all of them are recycled, about 2.5 million tons of copper can be extracted, which is equivalent to reducing the mining of primary copper mines by 12 million tons and saving 30 million tons of standard coal. This "turning waste into treasure" model not only eases the pressure of resource shortage, but also promotes the transformation of industries to low-carbonization, providing a practical path for the realization of the "double carbon" goal.

The value of copper rice recycling has long gone beyond simple resource reuse. It is not only an important starting point to solve resource constraints and environmental pressure, but also an effective way to cultivate new drivers of green economy, playing an irreplaceable role in the process of sustainable development.