material generated by households or by commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product which can no longer be used for its intended purpose. This includes returns of material from the distribution chain.
synonyms: old scrap
note: Close to half of copper's secondary raw materials is post-consumer. In terms of additionality, complexity of processing, energy and carbon savings and the production of co-products, post-consumer material is very different from pre-consumer materials, though both streams contribute to recycled content.