Case Study: Copper Wire Recycling Machine in Indonesia – San Lan Success Story

In the bustling markets of Jakarta, where the hum of motorcycles mingles with the chatter of street vendors, a quieter crisis has been unfolding. Indonesia, a nation of over 270 million people, is grappling with a surge in electronic waste—from old smartphones to discarded cables—yet much of its valuable copper wiring is slipping through the cracks of outdated recycling systems. Copper, a critical resource in electronics, construction, and energy, is often trapped in tangled heaps of scrap cables, left to rust or burned in open pits, releasing toxic fumes into the air and wasting a material worth billions annually.

For local recyclers like Budi Hartono, who runs a small scrapyard on the outskirts of Bandung, this waste has long been a source of frustration. "We'd spend hours stripping cables by hand with knives," he recalls. "By the end of the day, my workers' hands were blistered, and we'd only recover about 60% of the copper. The rest was lost in torn insulation or too tangled to process. It felt like we were throwing money away—literally."

Enter San Lan, a global recycling equipment supplier with a reputation for turning industry challenges into opportunities. With decades of experience in crafting tailored recycling solutions, San Lan saw Indonesia's copper wire recycling gap not as a problem, but as a chance to empower local businesses while boosting sustainability. What followed was a partnership that would redefine how copper wire is recycled in the archipelago—one machine at a time.

Before San Lan's intervention, copper wire recycling in Indonesia relied heavily on manual labor and rudimentary tools. Recyclers like Budi faced three critical hurdles:

Low Recovery Rates: Manual stripping with knives or open-flame burning (a common but dangerous practice) left up to 40% of copper unrecovered, either stuck in insulation or damaged by heat.
High Labor Costs: A team of 5 workers could process only 50-80 kg of cables daily, making large-scale operations unprofitable.
Environmental Risks: Burning insulation released dioxins and sulfur dioxide, contributing to air pollution—a growing concern in cities like Jakarta, where smog levels often exceed safe limits.

"We knew we needed better equipment, but most imported machines were too big or too complicated for small yards like ours," Budi explains. "They'd cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, require trained technicians to operate, and guzzle electricity. It felt like we were stuck between a rock and a hard place: keep losing money with old methods, or go bankrupt trying to upgrade."

San Lan's team, during a 2023 visit to Indonesia, heard these frustrations firsthand. "Local recyclers weren't just asking for machines—they were asking for solutions that fit their reality," says Mei Lin, San Lan's regional sales director. "They needed equipment that was compact, affordable, easy to maintain, and designed for the types of cables common in Indonesia: a mix of thick power cables, thin data wires, and even the occasional bundle of jelly-filled telecom cables."

San Lan's response was a customized cable recycling system built around three core pieces of equipment, each tailored to Indonesia's unique needs: the scrap cable stripper equipment , the copper wire recycling machine , and a compact hydraulic cutter equipment for pre-processing tough materials. Here's how they work together:

a. Scrap Cable Stripper Equipment: Precision Meets Efficiency
San Lan's scrap cable stripper is a game-changer for small to medium yards. Unlike bulky industrial models, this tabletop machine weighs just 120 kg and fits in a 2m x 1.5m space—perfect for Budi's 300 sq.m. yard. Its adjustable blades can handle cables from 1mm to 50mm in diameter, from thin USB wires to thick 4-core power cables.

"The stripper uses a rotating blade that slices insulation cleanly without nicking the copper," Mei Lin explains. "Operators feed the cable into a guide, set the blade depth with a simple dial, and the machine pulls the cable through, stripping insulation in one smooth motion. It's so easy to use that Budi's workers mastered it in an hour—no technical degree required."

For jelly-filled cables (a common telecom waste in Indonesia), San Lan added a heated blade option to melt the sticky filling, ensuring the stripper doesn't get clogged. "That was a big request," Mei Lin notes. "Jelly-filled cables used to be a nightmare—workers would spend hours scraping off the goop. Now the machine handles them in seconds."

b. Copper Wire Recycling Machine: Maximizing Recovery
Once stripped, the copper wires are fed into San Lan's copper wire recycling machine—a compact granulator with a dry separator. This machine grinds the wires into small granules, then uses air separation to separate copper from any remaining insulation dust. The result? A recovery rate of 98.5%, according to San Lan's lab tests.

"The granulator is designed to be gentle on copper," Mei Lin says. "It uses low-speed blades to avoid overheating, which can damage the metal's quality. The dry separator uses a combination of airflow and vibration to sift out even tiny insulation particles—no water needed, which saves on water costs and avoids wastewater issues."

The machine's capacity is another win: it processes 150-200 kg of stripped wires per hour, meaning Budi's team can now handle in one hour what used to take a full day.

c. Hydraulic Cutter Equipment: Tackling the Toughest Cables
For thick, armoured cables or tangled bundles that can't be fed directly into the stripper, San Lan included a portable hydraulic cutter. This hand-operated tool uses 10 tons of pressure to slice through cables up to 80mm thick, turning unmanageable tangles into neat, stripper-friendly lengths.

"We used to hack at armoured cables with axes," Budi laughs. "Now one worker with the hydraulic cutter can prep 200 kg of tough cables in an hour. It's like going from a bicycle to a motorcycle."

San Lan didn't just deliver equipment—they delivered a partnership. In early 2024, their team spent two weeks in Budi's yard, training his 5 workers, setting up the machines, and even helping redesign his workflow for maximum efficiency.

"They taught us how to sort cables first—separating thick from thin, jelly-filled from regular—to optimize the stripper's speed," Budi says. "They also showed us how to clean the granulator's filters daily to keep recovery rates high. It wasn't just 'here's the machine, good luck'—they stayed until we were confident."

The setup also included a small air pollution control system equipment —a compact filter unit that captures dust from the granulator, ensuring the yard meets Indonesia's 2024 air quality standards. "We didn't want to solve one problem and create another," Mei Lin says. "The filter is quiet, uses minimal power, and the replaceable cartridges cost just $20 each. It's a small investment that makes a big difference for both workers and the community."

Six months after installing San Lan's equipment, the results speak for themselves. Budi's yard has transformed from a struggling operation into a thriving business, with metrics that tell the story:

Beyond the Numbers: A Ripple Effect
For Budi, the impact goes beyond profits. "I've hired two more workers—young guys from the village who used to struggle to find jobs," he says. "We're paying them double what they earned as day laborers, and they're learning skills that will help them for years. Plus, we're no longer burning cables, so my neighbors don't complain about the smoke anymore. Last month, the local environmental office even gave us a 'Green Recycler' certificate!"

Word of Budi's success has spread. Since 2024, over 20 small recyclers in West Java have purchased San Lan's cable recycling systems, and the company is now partnering with Indonesia's Ministry of Environment to subsidize equipment for rural areas. "We're not just selling machines—we're building a network," Mei Lin says. "Each recycler who upgrades creates a ripple effect: more copper recovered, less waste burned, more jobs created. That's the power of making sustainability accessible."

San Lan's work in Indonesia isn't stopping at copper wire. With the success of the cable recycling system, the company is now introducing tailored solutions for other high-demand materials, including li-ion battery breaking and separating equipment (to tackle Indonesia's growing lithium battery waste) and circuit board recycling equipment (for e-waste processing).

"Indonesia has the potential to be a leader in circular economy in Southeast Asia," Mei Lin says. "It has the raw materials, the entrepreneurial spirit, and now, with the right equipment, the means to turn waste into wealth. For us, this isn't just a business—it's a chance to be part of something bigger: a future where nothing is wasted, and every recycler, no matter how small, can thrive."

For Budi, that future is already here. "Last week, I processed 1.2 tons of cables in three days," he grins. "Five years ago, I thought I'd retire broke. Now? I'm planning to expand—maybe buy San Lan's lithium battery machine next year. Who knows? In 10 years, we might be the biggest recycler in Java."

As the sun sets over his yard, the hum of San Lan's machines mixing with the distant call to prayer, it's clear: copper wire recycling in Indonesia isn't just about metal—it's about people, progress, and the power of a good idea. And with partners like San Lan, that idea is only getting stronger.