Copper Cable Removal
Let us help you extract, recycle, and monetize your underutilized copper cable.
Investment Recovery
Green Planet 21 is the North American leader in copper cable removal and recycling. In addition to copper cable removal, we offer a wide array of copper plant network engineering and decommissioning services.
How It Works
We’ve helped some of the world's largest telecom companies and government agencies monetize their underutilized copper cable. Here's our process.
Planning
We conduct strategic and tactical planning to identify target copper cables that are ready for extraction.
Audit
Our team carefully audit unused lines, making sure there are no active circuits. We perform physical cable audits in the central office and field to verify records.
Copper Cable Extraction
We systematically cut and remove cleared cables using specialized equipment designed for 100% safety to the network. Our trucks are designed to extract the cable and cut them into 9” inch sticks, which we ship to our facility to be recycled.
Recycling & Monetization
We use specialized techniques to process and sell the copper cable into the global metals markets at COMEX prices. Because we repurpose the copper, poly, and lead, the cable is 100% recycled.
Why Decommission Copper Networks?
Reclaimed cable pathways for new fiber installations
Reduced network maintenance costs, lower dispatch rates, reduced air pressure costs
Improved QoS when customer services are rolled to better-quality circuit pathways
Boost to ESG goals through the proactive recycling of outdated copper cable
Copper Cable Removal Benefits
In addition to reducing maintenance and tax costs, copper cable recovery is a great way to gain a new revenue and add to sustainability goals.
Boost to ESG goals
Each ton of copper recycled displaces 2.8 tons of CO2 that would usually be emitted from open-pit mining and smelting.
New Revenue
Depending on the amount of copper cable extracted, the program is often a source of revenue that can be used for other network updates and projects.
Cleared Duct Space
Proactively clearing pathways of abandoned-in-place cable clears out the duct-space, allowing it to be reused for future fiber installations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Where can I recycle copper wire or copper telecom cable?
Ans. Green Planet 21 has a state-of-the-art facility for copper cable recycling in Cincinnati, Ohio. We accept shipments of copper cable and copper wire from anywhere in the world to recycle at our facility, and we can work with you to coordinate logistics. Because we recycle in-house and work with an extensive network of buyers, we are able to consistently give the best price possible for copper cable.
Q. What is copper cable decommissioning?
Ans. Copper cable decommissioning involves the migration of circuits on underutilized telecom cables in order to retire the lines. Green Planet 21 has a 12-step method for decommissioning copper cable, which includes design planning and engineering, splicing and migrating circuits, prepping, checking for tone, and performing transfers in order to retire the underutilized cables and optimize the network.
Q. What is copper cable removal?
Ans. Copper cable removal involves the removal of abandoned-in-place or retired copper lines. These copper lines can be direct-buried, in-conduit underground, or aerial. Specialized equipment must be used in order to remove this cable without any disruption to the active network. Removing the cable is beneficial for a myriad of reasons, including clearing conduits for future fiber installations and recycling the cable for new revenue and a boost to ESG goals.
Q. Why is copper cable recycling important?
Ans. Copper cable recycling is hugely beneficial for the environment. For each ton of copper that’s recycled, 2.8 tons of CO2 are saved from being released into the environment through traditional mining. There are currently millions of tons of copper cable buried underground in the United States, which are becoming increasingly obsolete or abandoned as more telecom companies move to fiber. By removing and recycling the outdated copper lines, we can create a new and ongoing source of recycled copper to use for decarbonization technologies like electric vehicles and solar energy.