The World Copper Factbook 2019 International Copper Study Group 53 Copper Recycling R a te Definitions The recycling performance of copper b earing product s can be measur ed and demonstr ate d in vario u s wa ys depending among other thi n gs on objec t iv es s c ope data availability and target audience The three Internati o nal Non Ferrous Metal St udy Groups in conjunction wit h various me tal industry associations agreed on the common defi n iti ons of the thr ee f o llowi ng metal recycling rates Th e R e c y cling Input Rat e RIR measures the proportion of metal and metal product s that are produced from scr ap and other metalbearing low grade residues The RIR is mainl y a statistical measurement for raw material availability and supply rather than an i ndi cator of recycli ng efficiency of processes or products The RI R has been in use in the metal s industr y for a long ti me and is wi del y avail able from stati s tical sour ces Majo r target audi ences for this type of metallurgi c al indicat o r are the metal indust ry metal traders and resour ce policy makers However given structural and proces s varia b le s it may h a ve limited use as a policy tool Th e Over all Recy cling Effici ency Rate indi cate s the efficiency with whi c h end of life EOL scr ap new scr ap and other metalbeari ng residues ar e collected and recycled by a network of collectors processors an d met a l recycler s The ke y target audi ences of thi s particular indicat o r are metal industry scr ap processor s and scrap gener ators Th e E O L Re cy cling R a te indicates the efficiency with whi c h EO L scrap fr om obsol e te pr oducts i s recycled Thi s measur e focuses on endoflife management perfor m ance of pr oduct s and provides import ant information to tar g et audi ences such as met a l and recycli n g ind u strie s pr od uct de sig n e r s life cycl e analysts and environm ental policy makers