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Scrap cable prices

Cable is priced on one thing above all: how much copper comes out of it. A percentage in a grade name is the recovery rate, so an 80% cable yields 800g of copper per kilo. Here are today’s live rates across every cable grade.

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Cables scrap prices by grade

All 8 Cables grades, highest first.

Scrap cable prices per kilo
GradePrice per kgChange
80% cable£6.63▲ +0.64%
High grade cable£6.63▲ +0.64%
65% singles£3.52▲ +0.64%
60% singles£3.19▲ +0.64%
Household/VIR plug free 41-45%£2.97▲ +0.64%
Low grade cable min 25%£1.83▲ +0.64%
Pluggy Cable£0.49▲ +0.64%
Plugs (Domestic 3 pin)£0.49▲ +0.64%

What moves the cable price

Cable prices track the LME copper contract, discounted by recovery rate and by what it costs to separate the copper from the insulation.

That separation cost is why two cables with identical copper content can fetch different prices. Thick single-core cable strips quickly; fine multi-strand flex with foil screening and filler needs granulating, and the processing cost comes out of your price.

Insulation type matters at the margins too. Clean PVC has a resale value as recovered plastic; mixed, armoured or rubber-sheathed cable often does not, and can carry a disposal cost the buyer factors in.

Understanding cable grades

The percentage in a grade name is the copper yield. 80% cable and high grade cable are thick, high-conductor cable — the best of the insulated grades.

Household and VIR cable at 41 to 45% is ordinary twin-and-earth and lighting flex with the plugs removed. It is the grade most domestic sellers actually have.

Singles at 60 to 65% are single-core insulated conductors, common in commercial rewires, and they are worth well above household cable.

Low grade cable at a minimum of 25% covers thin flex, data and alarm cable — lots of plastic, little copper.

Pluggy cable and domestic three-pin plugs are the bottom of the range. Plugs carry brass pins, steel and a lot of moulded plastic, so recovery per kilo is poor. Cutting the plugs off moves the rest of the lead up a grade.

Getting a better price for your cable

  • Cut the plugs off before you weigh in. Plugs are one of the lowest-value grades and they drag the whole load down with them.
  • Sort by thickness. Thick singles are worth several times more per kilo than thin flex — mixing them means being paid the lower rate on everything.
  • Never burn cable. It is a criminal offence in the UK, it releases dioxins, and burnt copper is graded down anyway.
  • For large quantities of high-content cable, price stripped bare wire against the insulated rate before deciding whether stripping is worth your time.

Scrap cable price questions

Everything you need to know about the product and billing.

It is the copper recovery rate — the proportion of the cable’s weight that is actually copper. A 65% cable yields 650g of copper per kilo. It is the single biggest factor in what a cable is worth, which is why grades are named after it.

It depends on the copper content and your time. Thick, high-percentage cable strips fast and bare bright wire sells at the top copper rate, so stripping usually pays. Thin flex takes far longer per kilo of recovered copper and is often not worth it. Compare the bare wire price against the insulated rate for the volume you have.

Singles are single-core insulated conductors, typically from commercial installations, with a thick copper core and comparatively little insulation — 60 to 65% copper by weight. Household and VIR cable is ordinary twin-and-earth and lighting flex at 41 to 45%. That gap in copper content is why singles pay substantially more per kilo, so it is well worth keeping them apart.

You can, but it will be graded as pluggy cable — one of the lowest rates. Plugs carry moulded plastic, brass pins and a fuse, so recovery per kilo is poor. Snipping them off takes seconds and moves the remaining cable into a considerably better grade.

Our cable prices are refreshed every trading day. Scrap prices track the underlying metal on the London Metal Exchange, which moves continuously, so a price quoted a week ago is rarely the price you will be paid today. Always check on the day you plan to sell.

The prices here are the rates buyers on ScrapBays are paying for clean, correctly sorted material. If your load is mixed, contaminated, still attached to other materials, or below a buyer's minimum weight, it will be graded down. Sorting and cleaning before you sell is the single biggest thing in your control.

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