It shouldn't take too much government support, people steal copper to get the recycling money: "Perhaps the most striking manifestation of the 2000s copper boom was the sight of charred human remains dangling from power cables".
Additionally, metals being the profit center of the recycling business is one of the reasons Elon Musk could write:
"No change in copper production is required for the transition to sustainable energy. Lithium refinement needs to increase dramatically, but lithium ore itself is extremely common throughout Earth."
And from Mining.com, February 17:
Higher prices and more government support will be needed for recycling to ease the next copper shortfall, Australian bank Macquarie said.
As demand increases due to advancing electrification, with primary production limited due to underinvestment, the market is predicted to drop to a surplus of 3Mtpa by 2030.
About 9 tonnes of copper are recycled every year, compared to a current demand of 31 million tonnes per year.
For years, commodities experts have warned of a copper crunch.
BloombergNEF estimates that demand will increase by more than 50% from 2022 to 2040....
....MUCH MORE
And though, for some reason, the Chinese government/Communist Party is encouraging property developers to finish half-completed apartment buildings, there are already 30 million vacant apartments, most of which, as the population declines, will never be used, and will eventually be torn down with the profitable bits being recycled.
