Returnable and non-returnable reels
A returnable reel is one the cable maker expects back, usually a steel reel or a wooden reel covered by a deposit or a take-back program; a non-returnable reel ships with the cable and becomes the buyer's to keep, reuse or sell. If your empty reels qualify for a maker's return, use it; if they don't, which is true of most mixed piles of wooden reels, you can sell them as a reel lot.
Who owns the reel
Ownership follows the terms the cable was sold under. Southwire's reel packaging sheet is a clear example. It lists its wooden reels as non-returnable, with no deposit required, and its steel reels as returnable, with charges. Its table even carries the Aluminum Association code for each: NR for non-returnable reels and RM for returnable metal reels.
So a contractor that buys cable on a Southwire wooden reel owns that reel once the cable is paid for. A contractor that receives cable on a steel reel is holding the maker's property, or a deposit, and is expected to send it back. Read the invoice and the stencil; both usually say.
| Returnable | Non-returnable | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical build | Steel reels; some heavy wooden reels | Most wooden reels, nailed and plywood |
| Who owns it after delivery | The cable maker, or you against a deposit | You, the cable buyer |
| What happens when empty | Sent back for credit, deposit refund or reuse | Kept, reused, sold or disposed of |
| Example | Southwire steel reels, RM code, charges apply | Southwire wooden reels, NR code, no deposit |
| Paperwork | Return authorization, condition inspection | None required |
Take-back programs for wooden reels
Some makers and packaging companies collect used wooden reels even though they were sold as non-returnable. The terms are narrow, and they matter, because they decide whether your pile qualifies.
Sonoco's EcoReel program offers free pickup of truckloads of viable used reels, nailed wood and polyfiber, then refurbishes them for cable and cordage producers. It says most reels can be recycled three or more times. Its packing guide sets minimums of a 30-inch flange and a 1.5-inch flange thickness, and the customer gathers and loads the reels onto the truck Sonoco provides.
Service Wire runs a free reel return that accepts only its own labeled nailed wood reels with 30 to 72 inch flanges, in full truckloads, with an undamaged arbor hole and at least 75 percent of stave boards intact. Reels from other makers do not qualify. Dura-Line's reel credit applies only to its own steel reels; wooden-stave reels and reels not from a Dura-Line facility do not qualify, and returns are inspected on receipt.
| Program | Reels accepted | Minimum lot | Other conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sonoco EcoReel | Viable nailed wood and polyfiber reels | A truckload, or a large ongoing supply | Flange at least 30 in and 1.5 in thick; customer loads |
| Service Wire reel return | Service Wire's own labeled nailed wood reels, 30 to 72 in flanges | Full truckload | Undamaged arbor hole; at least 75 percent of staves intact |
| Dura-Line reel credit | Dura-Line's own steel reels only | Not stated here | Wooden reels excluded; inspected on receipt |
Reusable reels and how the circuit works
Between returnable and throwaway sits a third idea: the reusable wooden reel. Okonite's technical notes describe it. A Class 1 standard-duty or Class 2 heavy-duty wood reel that goes back to a reel manufacturer and is refurbished to the level of new is treated as a reusable reel. Where an end user has enough of them, they are picked up at no cost, rebuilt, and sold back to cable makers at the price of new reels.
The scale is large. Okonite says it bought over 85,000 wood and plywood reels and spools in 1999, more than 76,000 of them in the reusable wood reel category, and over 100,000 wooden reels in 2015. Each of those left a plant full and ended up empty somewhere. The circuit works well for reels that reach it in quantity. It works poorly for the scattered remainder, which is most of what a contractor or distributor has behind the building.
Why most piles don't qualify
Look at what a real yard holds. A distributor's back lot has reels from four or five cable makers. An electrical contractor has a dozen sizes, from 24-inch building-wire reels to a few big feeder reels. A fiber staging yard has whatever the network owner's cable arrived on. Few of these piles are a full truckload of one maker's reels within one size range in good enough shape.
Every maker program covers only its own reels, so empties from other makers, mixed sizes and wooden reels outside the accepted range pile up with no return route. Small reels under 30 inches fall below Sonoco's minimum. Plywood reels are not named by either wooden-reel program. Part loads wait until they become full loads, and meanwhile they take up yard space and weather.
Clues on the reel itself
When the paperwork is gone, the reel often tells you enough. Check these before you sell or scrap a pile.
- Stencil: Okonite lists the cable supplier's name, the reel class, a rolling arrow, the size, the reel maker and the assembly date on larger reels. A named class 1 or 2 points to a reel built for reuse.
- Codes: NR on a reel or packing list means non-returnable under the Aluminum Association scheme; RM means returnable metal.
- Tags and labels: a deposit tag, a return label or a maker's barcode plate usually means someone expects it back.
- Material: steel reels are almost always returnable; plywood reels and small wooden reels almost never are.
- Invoice terms: the cable invoice or order confirmation states reel charges or deposits if there are any.
Where to sell empty cable spools that can't go back
Non-returnable reels are yours to sell, and we buy them by the reel lot. We take mixed makers, mixed sizes and part loads, and we grade them rather than reject them for a missing stave. We price the lot on size, count, condition and the freight to get them to a buyer, and we arrange pickup.
Other routes exist and are worth knowing. Regional pallet and reel yards buy used reels at yard prices; AAA-Affordable Pallets of Tampa, Florida publishes a list from $3.00 for a 24x30 reel to $10.00 for 48x28x24, 50x32x24 and 54x32x24 reels, with receiving on weekdays. Local contractors and rope users sometimes take a few. Anything past saving can go to a wood recycler. We are one option among these, and the one built for mixed lots across the US.
- 01
Check for a return route
If the reels are one maker's and that maker's program covers them, start there.
- 02
Sort the rest
Group by flange, traverse and drum; count each size; set rejects aside.
- 03
Photograph
A stencil, the stack, and the worst reel.
- 04
Send for a quote
Email info@cablereelsforsale.com or use the sell form with counts and location.
Returnable reels in your yard
If you are holding returnable reels, send them back under the maker's terms. A steel reel that carries a charge is the maker's money sitting in your yard, and keeping it can cost you. We do not buy returnable steel reels, and we do not buy wooden reels you have agreed to return under a deposit.
Mixed piles sometimes hold both. Pull out anything with a returnable marking, a deposit tag or a steel body first, then quote the rest with us.
Buying non-returnable reels for your own use
The same logic works the other way. A reel you buy from us is yours outright: there is no deposit, no return date and no inspection when you are finished with it. Use it for one job or ten, re-spool onto it, store cable on it for years. When it is empty and you no longer need it, we will quote it back.
Questions people ask
What is a non-returnable cable reel?
A reel sold with the cable and not meant to go back to the maker. It belongs to the cable buyer, who can keep, reuse or sell it.
Where can I sell empty cable spools?
If a maker's take-back covers them, use it. Otherwise sell them as a reel lot to a buyer of used reels; we buy mixed makers and sizes across the US.
Can I return wooden reels to Service Wire?
Only its own labeled nailed wood reels with 30 to 72 inch flanges, in full truckloads, with a sound arbor hole and at least 75 percent of staves intact.
Does Sonoco take any used reel?
Its EcoReel program takes viable nailed wood and polyfiber reels by the truckload, with flanges at least 30 inches across and 1.5 inches thick.
Do you buy steel reels?
No. We trade wooden reels only. Return steel reels to their maker.