Three Things You Should Know About Selling Your Scrap Copper Wire
If you have a business that uses copper wire, you are likely to have scrap wire. Or perhaps you are involved in construction or remodeling and remove wiring from buildings and homes. Whatever the case may be, you shouldn't throw this wire away. There are copper wire buyers who will give you cash for your scrap copper. However, there are a few things you should be aware of.
Not all recycling companies will buy your wire
There are many metal buyers who only buy the metal. In other words, your copper wire cannot have insulation on it. This may be a problem for you, but that is solved by selling your scrap wire to a company that buys the wire with the insulation. This type of business has equipment to remove the insulation that a typical scrap metal buyer does not have.
You will get a higher price without the insulation
If you want, you can remove the insulation yourself and get a higher price, but keep in mind, it may not be worth the effort. You will need to pay someone to do it, and the chances are, the work will be done manually. This is slow and the labor cost will likely make the effort unprofitable. The tools used to strip wire are likely sharp, so there is the risk of injury. Of course, you could invest in an industrial stripping machine, but it is doubtful that you are producing enough scrap wire to make it a good investment. You can look at the numbers yourself. All you need is a quote for copper wire with and without the insulation. It is best to get the quotes from two different companies: one that takes wire with the insulation and one that only take copper.
Copper wire with insulation varies in price
This has nothing to do with the current price of copper. The fact is that the percentage of copper varies with the wire type. Wire with thicker insulation will have a smaller percentage of copper. This is important because a buyer will simply weigh your wire and pay you by the pound, according to the wire type. For this reason, you need to know what type of wire you have. There are many types. There is PVC insulated wire used in electronics, communication wire, and insulated cable wire, to name only a few.
Although you probably knew that copper can be recycled, you may not have been aware that there are recycling business who will buy your wire with the insulation. It's easy. The only thing you need to do is haul the wire to the recycling facility. You will be will picking up some extra cash and helping the environment at the same time.
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