The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 5 letter word SCRAP METAL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
C
R
A
P
M
E
T
A
L
More clues leading to the result SCRAP METAL
- Perhaps waste copper's time infiltrating phoney pearl scam
- Arc lamp set off such reclaimed material
- Smart place to recycle — this?
- From which you could get lamp recast?
- Fight with others about motorway — it’s unwanted by industry?
- Arc lamp set off material for reprocessing
- Leader of trend slipped into stretchy lame shed at first – it can be used again
- Waste material recycled in camps later
- Get rid of broken stones found in yards
- Fate of written-off M-plate cars?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Perhaps waste copper" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case perhaps waste copper = scrap metal.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.