What to do with empty plastic cable reels

Plastic reels are mostly small to mid-size spools for data cable, fibre, control cable and building wire. Some are composite or polyfiber reels, which are larger and built to be reused. They don't rot, so a plastic reel's life usually ends with a crack, a broken flange or a missing arbor insert, not with age.

Option 1: Return it

• CommScope splits its reel recycling by reel type and names Sonoco for "composite-only" reels. See the CommScope entry. CommScope asks for a full load, photos and reel dimensions.
• Sonoco EcoReel lists "wooden and polyfiber reel and spool" recovery at no cost, for truckloads of reels that can be reused. See the EcoReel entry.

Option 2: Reuse it

An intact plastic reel is useful to anyone who winds cable, rope, hose or wire in short lengths. That includes in-house cable cutting, reel-off rigs and shops that re-spool remnants. Clean off labels and tape, and keep the reels nested by size so a buyer can count them.

Option 3: Recycle it

A broken plastic reel is a plastics stream, not a wood stream. Check for a moulded resin code on the flange or hub. If there isn't one, the recycler may need to test it, or may refuse it. Pull any metal arbor bushings, staples and banding, and keep plastic reels out of the wood roll-off, where they contaminate the load.

The pickup request on this site covers wood reels. For plastic reels, start with the programs above, or ask your plastics recycler.