Yup. There is a whole industry that is involved in copper recycling.

Copper is expensive and even scrap dealers deal with copper separately.

In India, even street pickers know the value of copper.

Street pickers know the value of everything. That's their daily bread-butter. FMCG companies use CSR funds to make them pickup more of less-value trash.

It is valuable enough that a fair bit is stolen:

https://www.google.com/search?channel=fs&client=ubuntu&q=kil...

I knew an electrician who had a bucket of scrap next to the couch, and he'd strip wire or unravel windings while watching TV. Didn't pay as much as his day job, but it did pay (never asked if he was reporting the income or not).