Electrical wire is basicly a
conductive metal wraped in a plastic insulation.
The most common metal used in
electrical wire is copper
SEE STEEL AND
COPPER RECYCLING
Depending on the wire being
recycled the conductor metal may also be aluminum,
or sliver.
Aluminum conductor wire was
popular in the 1970's when copper was at a premium
SEE
ALUMINUM RECYCLING
The plastic that surounds the
wire is also valuable in large quantities SEE PLASTIC
RECYCLING
There are millions of feet of
scrap wire thrown into landfills every year by
contractors, and auto recyclers. This material can
be teadious to seperate and many companies that
scrap this material don't have time to recycle
it.
This is where you come
in.
The equipment required to
recycle electrical wire on a small to large scale
varies greatly. But It can be as simple as a
utility knife to a large scale granulation and
eddy current seperator.
Some of the most cost
effective machines for striping wire consist of
motorized rollers and a blade to slice thru the
insulation. There are a number of these on the
market prices range from $150.00 - $5000.00
depending of capacity.
Large scale wire recyclers
shred the whole wire then granulate it into small
particles. After granulation the particles are fed
thru eddy current seperators that remove the
plastic from the copper. These systems can cost
upwards of $300,000.00 or more and unless you can
engineer and build it yourself, It's not usually
an option for a small startup.
Some metal recyclers will also
accept electrical wire with the insulation still
in place. However the rate per pound reciaved for
this material is usually about 50% less that bare
material.
