TIL the sheer volume of old cable we toss out every month

Was cleaning out the van and realized we've filled two whole bins with scrap wire from just last week's jobs. Management says recycling isn't cost-effective, so it all goes to the dump. The copper could be reused, but it's just not prioritized. Makes me wonder what the environmental impact is, lmao.

4 comments

4 Comments

ryan9471mo ago

Honestly sometimes the recycling costs more than the copper is worth. It just doesn't make sense for a small shop to handle it.

christopher_foster891mo ago

Heard a story like @kim.nina's, whole dumpster of cable got trashed.

drew_mitchell15d ago

Fifty pounds of copper wire just thrown in the trash. That's a solid chunk of change getting buried for no good reason. It's crazy how some places just see it as junk.

kim.nina1mo ago

My buddy who works for an HVAC company had a similar thing happen. Honestly, they pulled like a full industrial spool of old thermostat wire out of a big remodel. His boss just tossed it all in the regular dumpster, had to be over fifty pounds of copper. He said it looked like a mountain of junk just getting buried.