Plastic reels

How it is built

Plastic reels are injection-moulded, sometimes as one piece and sometimes as two flanges that snap or bolt onto a core. They are light, don't rot, and stack well, which is why makers use them for returnable programs on building wire.

Who owns them

Many plastic reels are part of a closed loop: the maker ships cable on them to distributors, distributors collect the empties from contractors, and the reels go back to the maker. Look for "return to" or "property of" moulded into the flange. Those belong to the loop.

Where they go

Returnable plastic reels go back to the branch or maker. Unclaimed ones are rarely worth a separate trip, but they can ride with a pickup and go to plastic recycling when broken.

Loops, deposits and distributors

Plastic reels make most sense in a tight loop: maker to distributor to contractor and back again, over and over. Building wire suits that loop because contractors buy it constantly from the same branches. The reels are tough, consistent in size and easy to clean, so they survive dozens of trips.

Some loops use deposits: the contractor pays a little extra for the reel and gets it back on return. Others simply ask contractors to bring empties back to the counter. Either way, a plastic reel with a distributor's name on it has a home, and the branch is the place to take it.

When plastic reels fall out of a loop, cracked flanges or a closed branch for instance, the material can be recycled where a processor accepts that resin. Burning or burying them is never the answer.

Questions a counter clerk will ask

1. Which branch sold the wire, and roughly when?
2. Is the reel cracked, warped or missing its core insert?
3. How many are you bringing, and are they nested or loose?
4. Does your account carry a reel deposit that should be credited?

Spotting one in a yard

Moulded ribs, a smooth face, often a bright colour, and lettering cast into the flange. Some have a separate core that snaps in. Many carry the maker's or distributor's name and a phrase such as "returnable" or "property of" moulded in.

What to do with empties

• Return them to the branch that sold the wire.
• Keep them clean and stacked; broken ones may not be accepted.
• If nobody claims them, ask us about recycling.
• Never burn them; plastic smoke is hazardous.

Who uses them in Chicagoland

Electrical contractors on residential and light commercial work across the city and suburbs, buying building wire through distributor branches that run reel returns.

Sizes and markings

Plastic reels mostly range from palm-sized spools up to about 36 inches. Markings are moulded in: a maker or distributor name, sometimes a part number, and often the words "returnable" or "property of". Colour can hint at the owner, since some loops use a signature colour, but the lettering is what counts.

Small plastic spools for wire sold at retail are a different thing again, and usually single-use.

Common questions from contractors

Contractors often ask whether they can keep plastic reels for their own rewinding. If the reel belongs to a loop, the honest answer is no: return it and buy a one-way reel for your shop. If it carries no claim, it is yours, and a sturdy plastic reel makes a good shop reel for short lengths of building wire.

They also ask what happens to a cracked plastic reel. Most loops still want it back, because the maker can grind and remould the plastic. Ask the branch before throwing one away.

1. 1. Buyback Sound one-way reels, paid for.
2. 2. Maker take-back Returnable reels, routed home.
3. 3. Recycling Past reuse, broken down.
4. 4. Resupply Checked reels to new owners.

Questions

Do you buy plastic reels?

Rarely. Most belong to a maker or distributor loop. Unclaimed ones can go with a pickup, mostly for recycling.

Where do I return plastic wire reels?

To the branch that sold the wire, in most cases. Check the moulded markings for the owner.

Can plastic reels be recycled?

Many can, depending on the resin. Broken unclaimed ones ride with a pickup to a plastics processor.

Why do makers use plastic for building wire?

Plastic reels are light, consistent and don't rot, so they survive many loops between maker, distributor and contractor.

Is a plastic reel worth selling?

Rarely. Most are owned by a loop, and the unclaimed ones are worth little on resale.

Reel words on this page

Flange

The round side discs that hold the cable in. Flange diameter, edge to edge, is the size a reel is known by.

Drum (barrel)

The cylinder between the flanges that the cable winds around.

Traverse

The inside width between the flanges: how wide a layer of cable can be.

Arbor hole

The centre hole a spindle, shaft or payoff bar passes through.

Drive hole

A smaller hole off-centre in the flange that a drive pin uses to turn the reel.

Lagging / staves

The boards nailed around the drum, and the protective boards sometimes nailed across the flanges over finished cable.

Nailed vs bolted

Nailed reels are held together with nails and built for one trip; bolted reels have through-bolts and steel plates for many.

Returnable reel

A reel its maker expects back, usually stencilled or tagged to say so.

One-way reel

A reel nobody is collecting. Once empty, it belongs to whoever holds it.

Reel tag

The label or plate carrying the maker, the reel number and sometimes the return terms.

Payoff

The stand or trailer a reel turns on while cable is pulled off it.