How to Make Money With Copper Wire Recycling

If you have copper wires at home that are sitting in the back of your garage, or if you’re planning to throw them away, why not use them to their full potential and make some extra money through copper wire recycling? Copper wire recycling can be more lucrative than recycling any other types of scrap metal. So if you have access to scrap pieces of copper, whether it’s at home or at your business, consider recycling them. Through the process, you will not only earn some quick cash, but you’ll also help the environment. Here’s how to make the most money through copper wire recycling.

The key to maximizing the value of your copper wires are to know how to correctly collect and categorize the material before you enter a copper wire recycling facility. First you must separate the high-voltage electrical cables from the low-voltage communication wires to help the scrap dealer weigh and grade the types of wires. A common mistake many new recyclers make is stripping insulation from the copper wires. All yards have a different attitude towards insulation, some will give you a higher price and some won’t. So make sure ahead of time or it’ll be a wasted effort. Nonetheless insulation stripping is a dangerous task. Sometimes if you try to burn the wire to remove its insulation, you could even be fined.

You should also sort the scrap copper wires into different grades. Officially, copper wires can be separated into five grades ranging from 10-85%, but most scrap yards go by high grade and low grade. A high grade copper wire refers to any copper wire with a single layer of insulation, while a low grade copper wire refers to any copper wire with a double layer of insulation. Categorization is essential to copper wire recycling , because chances are, if you don’t do it, the scrap yard will typically sort everything to the lowest price category. Another important step to raise value in copper wire recycling is to remove contaminants such as connectors, end-fittings, or any non copper items from the wires. 

After you’ve finished all the preparations, you’re now ready for copper wire recycling. Make sure you go to a scrap yard with good reputation. Copper prices fluctuate from day to day, so call ahead of time to see if the centres are offering a fair price relative to copper’s current value. You could also try negotiating for the best deal. Some copper wire recycling facilities are dirty and messy. Look for centres that are clean and organized, as their business ethics reflect in the amount of care they put into taking care of their work environments. When your copper wires get weighed, make sure nothing hangs off of the scale and touches the ground. The heavier they weight, the more you get paid.

If you’re interesting in copper wire recycling but don’t know where to start, or if you need more details on how to best prepare the copper wires, don’t hesitate to book an appointment today for more professional advice. At Scrap Copper, we have specialized in buying, segregating and distributing non-ferrous metals for nearly two decades. If you have more questions or concerns, you can reach us by phone at 905-660-7081, or we can reach you by email after you fill out a contact form online at our website.