1. Lesson Five: World of Rubbish – China and Christmas Tree Lights

2. Why do cables and Christmas tree lights get sent to China? o Cables contain a lot of copper but the UK and US do not have time or money to break it all down. o Copper on the global market is worth around $6 per kilo. Source: Flickr user Burtysky

3. Recycling in China o In a Chinese recycling yard in Foshan bales of copper cable are worth around $10,000-15,000. o Christmas lights are around 28% copper. o A machine in a recycling plant in China can process 2 million pounds of Christmas tree lights per year. Source: Flickr user antijoe

4. How are Christmas lights broken down? Source: Jubilant 1.Put into a large machine to chop into tiny pieces. 2.Water pushed over the material to carry away lighter pieces of material 3.Copper that remains is removed and melted down for re-use

5. 50% of China’s copper comes from scrap