Copper cable scrap is paid on how much copper is inside, not on what the whole coil weighs. The plastic insulation, the fillers and any steel armour are waste to the buyer, so they come off the price. That is the single biggest reason one kilo of cable is worth several times another.
The main types of cable scrap
- Single core power cable: a thick copper conductor with a thin layer of insulation. Mostly copper by weight, so it pays best.
- Multicore power cable: several conductors in one sheath, with fillers between them. Less copper per kilo than single core.
- Armoured cable: power cable wrapped in steel wire or tape. The steel lowers the value, and it has to be separated.
- Building wire: the thin wires inside walls and panels. A fair amount of copper, but a lot of plastic.
- Data, telephone and control cable: very thin conductors in thick plastic. The lowest grade.
- Aluminium cable: looks similar but is not copper at all. Cut the end and check the colour.
A quick way to estimate the copper
Cut a 30 cm piece, weigh it, then strip it and weigh the copper on its own. The share of copper in that sample is roughly what the buyer is paying you for. It also tells you whether stripping the rest is worth your time.
Should you strip it?
For a large amount of thick cable, stripping can pay: bare copper wire is bought at a copper grade, often much higher per kilo than the cable it came from. For thin cable or small amounts, the labour costs more than you gain. A cable stripper is cheap, but hours are not.
Never burn cable
Burning off the insulation is dangerous, pollutes the air, and open burning of waste is not allowed in the UAE. It also damages the copper: burnt wire is graded lower than clean stripped wire, so you lose money as well.
Paperwork for large lots
Buyers ask where large lots of cable came from, especially new looking cable, because cable theft from sites is a real problem. If you are selling for a company or a contractor, bring the paperwork that shows the cable is yours to sell. It makes the sale quicker.
What about cable from a site clearance?
Site clearances usually produce a mix: offcuts of power cable, reels with a few metres left, building wire pulled from walls, and data cable from ceilings. Sorting that mix into three piles, thick power cable, building wire and data cable, lets each pile be priced at its own grade instead of the lowest one. Cut long lengths into coils you can lift, and leave cable on its reel if the reel is wood or steel, because the reel is weighed on its own.
Is armoured cable worth stripping?
Armoured cable has a layer of steel wire under the outer sheath. Stripping it gives you three things: the copper, the steel armour and the plastic, which is waste. For long runs of large armoured cable, this can be worth doing with the right tools. For short pieces, sell it as armoured cable and let the buyer deal with it.
How cable is weighed at our yard
At Scrap Buyer Musaffah, each type of cable is weighed on its own, in front of you. If a sample has to be cut to check the copper inside, that is done in front of you too, and the grade for each pile is agreed before anything is paid.
Getting today's rate
Cable rates follow the copper market and change daily, so we do not publish them on the website. Send a photo of the cable, a cut end and a rough weight on WhatsApp to +971 52 727 0105, use our contact page, or bring it to the Scrap Buyer Musaffah yard at Musaffah M42. The grades of bare copper are explained in what is copper scrap.
Common questions
How is copper cable scrap priced?
On the copper inside it. The buyer estimates how much of the weight is copper and pays the copper rate on that share.
Is it worth stripping copper cable?
For large amounts of thick single core cable, often yes. For thin data cable or building wire, usually not.
Is burnt copper wire worth more?
No. Open burning is not allowed, and burnt wire is graded lower than clean stripped wire.
