Returnable reels

Any size, any build, someone else's reel

This entry is about ownership, not construction. A returnable reel can be steel or wood, small or large. What makes it returnable is that the cable maker, or sometimes the distributor, expects it back, and either charged a deposit for it or will charge if it does not come back. Because of that, the person holding an empty returnable reel cannot sell it. The right thing to do is return it, and the holder or the original cable buyer usually gets a credit for doing so.

How to recognise a returnable reel

Look at both flange faces and around the arbor hole. Any one of these is a strong sign:

• A steel reel. Steel reels are built to be returned. Southwire, for example, states that its steel reels are returnable and charged.
• A stencil. A maker's name in large letters, often with the word RETURNABLE, RETURN TO or PROPERTY OF, painted on the flange face.
• A reel number. A serial or asset number painted, stencilled or on a metal plate. Makers track returnable reels by number.
• A deposit tag. A metal or plastic tag, or a printed label, stating a deposit, a return address or a return programme.
• Return instructions. Some reels carry a phone number or address for collection.

A plain wooden reel with only a paper shipping label is almost always one-way. Southwire, for instance, ships its wooden reels as non-returnable with no deposit.

Why makers want reels back

Reels cost money to build, and large or steel ones a lot of money. A maker that gets its reels back can fill them again. Return programmes also reduce the timber and steel each shipment uses. Some makers run take-back schemes for their wooden reels as well: Service Wire's reel return takes back its own-label nailed wood reels between 30 and 72 inches in full truckloads, provided at least 75 percent of the staves are intact, the reel has no rot and the arbor hole is undamaged. Sonoco, which makes reels for cable companies, runs EcoReel, a free truckload pickup of viable used wood and polyfiber reels for contractors, utilities and distributors across most of the United States.

What we do with returnables

When a reel list includes returnables, we:

1. list each one by maker and reel number, from your photos or on site;
2. keep them out of the load, so they are never sold, scrapped or mixed with one-way reels;
3. tell you which programme or contact handles each maker's reels;
4. collect the one-way reels and recycling around them as normal.

We do not buy returnable reels, and we do not take them to "return on your behalf" without the owner's arrangement, because the credit belongs to whoever paid the deposit.

Who gets the credit

Usually the company that bought the cable. On a construction project that might be the electrical contractor, not the building owner or the general contractor. If you find returnable reels after a project has ended, contact the contractor that installed the cable first; they may already have a return arranged.

Why returnables sit on job sites

Return programmes often want a full truckload, one brand at a time. A contractor with three returnable reels from one maker and two from another may simply leave them in a corner until there are enough to call in. Over time those reels get buried in mixed piles. Sorting them out at the start of any clear-out is the single most useful step, and the one that keeps credits from being lost.

What to photograph

Two or three photographs settle most ownership questions without anyone driving out. Take one straight-on picture of each flange face, so any stencil or painted number can be read. Take a close-up of anything fixed near the arbor hole: a metal plate, a plastic tag, a paper label with a barcode. If there is a shipping label on the drum, photograph that too, because it often names the cable maker and the buyer. Send the pictures by email with your request. If several reels are the same, one set of photos with a count is enough.

Deposits, charges and credits

Makers handle returnable reels in different ways. Some charge a deposit when the cable is sold and refund it when the reel comes back. Some add a reel charge to the invoice and credit it on return within a time limit; Southwire's steel reel terms, for instance, credit reels returned within 12 months. Some simply expect the reel back and bill for it if it does not come. In every case the money sits with the company that bought the cable, which is why the right first call is usually to the contractor or distributor, not to the maker directly.

Returnables in South Jersey and Pennsylvania yards

Utility contractors' laydown yards in Delaware County and along the river in Gloucester County, distributor yards in Montgomery County, and the big construction sites in Bucks County and South Philadelphia are where returnable reels collect in this market. They usually sit beside one-way reels of the same size, which is exactly why each one should be checked.

Tracking tags and GPS

Some reel owners now fit barcodes, RFID tags or even GPS trackers to their reels, so they can locate them across job sites. A reel with a tracker attached is almost certainly returnable. Leave the tag in place.

Leasing pools and reel brokers

Some cable makers use pooled or managed reel programmes: they own a fleet, lend reels to cable makers, track them through distributors and contractors, and collect them afterwards. Pool reels usually carry the pool operator's name, a serial, and instructions for return, sometimes with a toll-free number or website. Follow those instructions, or tell us and we will hold the reel for its owner.

Forgotten returnables

Reels abandoned for years on vacant lots still belong to someone; owners usually welcome a call or email.

Questions

Can I remove the stencil and sell the reel?

No. The reel belongs to the maker whether or not the stencil is visible.

What if nobody comes to collect a returnable reel?

Keep a record of who you contacted and when. Makers generally do collect; if one cannot be reached, ask the distributor that sold the cable.

Are plastic reels ever returnable?

Some are. Look for a deposit or return statement moulded or printed on the flange.