My company chops insulated copper wire and separates the copper from the plastic insulation. We currently generate 500k lbs+/mo.
The plastic is a mix of flexible PVC, PE, chopped copper, and sometimes PEX. The PVC has mixed resins because the wire is sourced from scrap yards across the US. Some folks we talked to think there may be enough copper in there to make a profit.
We'd be happy to send a sample and FTIR lab scans of the material if interested.
