Southwire goes beyond copper in its recycling efforts

Georgia-based producer of wire and cable products also is using reclaimed plastic in its cable spools.

southwire recycling graphic
Southwire says it has as one of its goals to use 100 percent recycled materials in its packaging by next year.
Graphic courtesy of Southwire Co. LLC

Carrollton, Georgia-based wire and cable products maker Southwire Co. LLC is now using cable spools and reels made from 100 percent reground, reclaimed and recycled plastic materials.

According to the company, which also can use up to 20 percent copper scrap when making the copper wire that goes inside its cables, its recycled-content plastic effort equates to 10 million pounds, or 5,000 tons, of recycled plastic put to good use every year.

In its 2022 sustainability report, Southwire says it also aims to use 100 percent recycled materials in its packaging by next year. “In 2022, we supported this goal with an initiative out of our 12 for Life [program] to recover and reuse plastic reels,” the company says.

Reuse efforts for reels have proven useful, according to Southwire. The company says a vendor it works with, historically, would discard empty reels, many of which Southwire says were still in good condition. “Now, we repurchase used reels from the vendor, buying them back at a greatly reduced cost," it adds. "In 2022, our reels initiative enabled more than $200,000 in savings and helped us divert 78,000 pounds [39 tons] of plastic from landfills."

On the copper front, Southwire within its refinery it uses a solution system to break down large pieces of copper. During that process, says the company, the solution flows over copper filter paper, which collects pieces of copper dust.

Southwire says it now sends that paper to a metal recycling partner to recover the dust. “Southwire also sends all bare copper scrap back to our copper rod manufacturing plant in Carrollton, Georgia, where it can be melted down and reused,” the company says.