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What is a Romex wire?

Romex is simply a brand name of a non-metallic (NM) sheathed electrical cable made by a company called Southwire. As the predominant brand in North American sales of NM wire, you will likely find Romex cables in the wiring of any residential home. Because of its prevalence around the country, we frequently list Romex wire scrap prices under scrap metal pricing. The copper wire found in Romex is equivalent to other brands, but the outer coating on the sheathing is ideal for reducing friction since it is non-slippery. The National Electrical Code (NEC) categorizes Romex as an underground feeder (UF) or non-metallic sheathed cable (NM and NMC).

Why should you recycle your Romex wires?

As any electrician knows, if you don’t replace your Romex wires when they are getting to the end of their life, it can be very dangerous. Poorly maintained electrical cables are a large cause of electrical fires in homes, so it’s always better to be safe and replace your cables when the time comes.

But, rather than throwing them away, recycling can help reduce carbon emissions and minimize waste in landfills. The plastic coating surrounding Romex could take up to 1,000 years to decompose, not to mention the conducting wires inside would only increase that timeline. Aside from the environmental good recycling includes, you could get a pretty penny for your good deeds.

What do Romex wire scrap prices look like?

The Romex scrap wire prices can fluctuate, with this year’s high being $1.40/lb and low being $.74/lb. Prices change due to supply and demand just like with any other product in the economy. Because of the vast range of uses for metal, demand can increase and lower day to day due to various factors. If you’d like to see the national prices for the day, click here.

At Community Recycling, we update our pricing based on national averages to make sure they are fair and reasonable. Contact us today to see what your local Romex wire scrap prices are, and don’t forget – if you strip your Romex wires of the outer sheathing, you can get a bigger bang for your buck!