The widely used β-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins and cephalosporins are known to be susceptible to Cu-catalyzed hydrolysis at their four-membered β-lactam ring. However, this study elucidates that Cu can in fact play multiple roles in promoting the hydrolysis and/or oxidation of β-lactam antibiotics under environmental aquatic conditions (pH 5.0-9.0 and 22 °C), depending on β-lactams' structural characteristics and solution pH. Most significantly, the β-lactam antibiotics that contain a phenylglycine primary amine group on the side chain can undergo direct oxidation by Cu via this functional group. On the other hand, the β-lactam ring of penicillins is susceptible to Cu-catalyzed hydrolysis, followed by oxidation of the hydrolysis product by Cu. In contrast, the β-lactam ring of cephalosporins is susceptible to Cu-catalyzed hydrolysis only. Solution pH influences the Cu-promoted transformation by affecting the β-lactam and Cu complexation through protonation/deprotonation of critical organic functional groups. When Cu acts as an oxidant to promote the transformation of β-lactam antibiotics to yield Cu, the overall role of Cu appears catalytic if the reaction occurs under ambient atmospheric condition, due to quick oxidation of Cu by oxygen to regenerate Cu. Compared to earlier literature that largely assumed only the hydrolytic catalyst role of Cu in promoting degradation of β-lactam antibiotics, the oxidative roles of Cu identified by this study mark important contributions to a more accurate mechanistic understanding.