Insulated Copper Wire Scrap (ICW): Grades, Recovery Rates & Bulk Pricing
Insulated copper wire scrap — "ICW" in the trade — is copper wire or cable still wrapped in its plastic or rubber jacket. It is graded almost entirely on one number: how much copper, by weight, a processor will recover once the insulation is removed. That recovery rate is why a load of heavy THHN and a load of Christmas lights can be the same colour, the same weight, and priced 3× apart. This guide explains the #1 and #2 ICW grades, what common cable types actually yield, when stripping or chopping pays, and how bulk insulated wire is quoted off the LME and shipped from the USA.
What counts as insulated copper wire scrap
Any copper conductor with its insulation still on: building wire, feeder and service cable, extension cords, appliance cord, automotive harness, communications and data cable, and mixed "cable scrap" from demolition and electrical contractors. What it is not is bare wire — once the jacket is off, clean copper wire moves into the bare grades: No.1 mill berry (ISRI Barley) if it is bright and heavy, or No.2 Birch/Cliff if it is tinned, thin or tarnished.
Because the buyer is paying for the copper and hauling the plastic for free, every ICW price is really two things multiplied together: the LME-linked copper rate, and the percentage of the load that is copper.
#1 vs #2 insulated copper wire
Yards and exporters in the USA sort ICW into two working grades, sometimes with a third "low-grade" bucket underneath. The exact cut-offs vary a little by buyer, but the logic is consistent:
| Grade | What it looks like | Typical copper recovery | Common examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 ICW | Heavy-gauge, unalloyed, uncoated copper; single layer of insulation; no fittings or attachments | ~75–85%+ | THHN / THWN building wire, feeder cable, MCM, welding lead (bare-copper core) |
| #2 ICW | Thinner or multi-conductor wire; double insulation (jacket + individual conductor insulation); may be tinned | ~50–70% | Romex / NM-B, extension cords, appliance and power cord, SJ/SO cable |
| Low-grade / #3 ICW | Fine multi-strand wire, heavy plastic-to-copper ratio, mixed metals | ~25–45% | Cat5/Cat6 and telecom cable, auto harness, Christmas lights, coax |
The reason #1 pays more is not purity of the metal — the copper inside Romex is just as pure as the copper inside THHN. It is yield. A processor recovering 80 kg of copper from 100 kg of THHN can pay far more per kilo of load than one recovering 60 kg from 100 kg of Romex, before even counting the extra jacket that has to be separated and disposed of.
Recovery rates for common cable types
These are typical working figures used to price mixed loads. Your buyer will confirm the exact percentage by sample or by chopping a test lot, and it can move a few points either way depending on gauge and how clean the load is:
- Bare-heavy feeder / MCM (500 kcmil and up): 85–90%+. Close to bare-wire value once stripped.
- THHN / THWN building wire (10–14 AWG): ~75–80%.
- Romex / NM-B (with jacket, bare ground): ~60–70%.
- Extension cords & appliance cord (SJ/SO/SPT): ~50–65%.
- Automotive wiring harness (plugs removed): ~35–50%.
- Cat5 / Cat6 / telecom cable: ~30–45%.
- Christmas lights, coax, fine electronics wire: ~25–35%.
The single biggest payout lever: don't mix grades
A drum of clean THHN sold on its own is priced as #1 ICW at ~78% recovery. Tip a few boxes of Christmas lights and coax on top and the whole drum becomes "mixed insulated" priced at the lowest common denominator. Sorting ICW into #1, #2 and low-grade before it goes on the scale is often worth more than any negotiation on rate — the same principle we cover for bare grades in how to sell copper scrap.
Strip it, chop it, or sell it as-is?
Three routes, three different economics:
- Sell as insulated (as-is). Zero labour, fastest turnaround, lowest rate per pound of load. The right call for #2 and low-grade cable, and for any operation that does not have the volume to justify equipment.
- Hand- or machine-strip to bare bright. Removing the jacket from heavy-gauge #1 ICW turns it into No.1 mill berry, which sits at the smallest discount to the LME of any scrap grade. Worth it for THHN, feeder and MCM; rarely worth it for anything below about 12 AWG or any multi-conductor cable.
- Chop / granulate. A chopping line shreds cable and separates copper granules ("chops") from plastic by density. Chops typically grade at 99%+ copper and sell close to No.1 or No.2 bare-wire prices depending on cleanliness and tinning. This is how large yards and exporters convert #2 and low-grade ICW into a high-value, export-ready product — and it is the route that opens the strictest overseas markets.
The rule of thumb: the thicker and cleaner the copper, the more it pays to strip; the thinner and messier the cable, the more it pays to chop or sell as-is.
How bulk insulated copper wire is priced
Like every grade we trade, ICW is priced off the LME copper benchmark. A quote is built as: LME reference × expected recovery percentage − processing margin, then applied to the certified net weight. Two things move an ICW quote more than anything else:
- Verified recovery. Buyers will sample or test-chop a load to confirm the yield. Accurate pre-sorting into #1 / #2 / low-grade means the confirmed percentage matches the quoted one and there are no post-weigh adjustments.
- Volume tier. Container-scale loads earn a tighter margin. For export, insulated cable is typically packed in bales, gaylords or loose in 20ft/40ft containers; a 20ft box of baled ICW usually carries around 18–22 metric tonnes.
Exporting insulated copper wire from the USA
Insulated copper cable ships as copper waste and scrap under HS heading 7404 and follows the same FOB / CFR / CIF process as bare grades — see how to buy copper scrap in bulk for export from the USA for Incoterms, payment and inspection. Two market notes specific to ICW:
- Where it goes. Unprocessed ICW is bought by processors in India, Turkey, Southeast Asia and Latin America that run their own chopping lines. Because the buyer is paying freight on the plastic too, short-haul corridors from Port Everglades — the Caribbean, Central America, Colombia — are especially competitive for #2 and low-grade cable.
- Where it doesn't. Unprocessed insulated cable does not meet China's recycled-copper raw material standard. For that market the cable must first be chopped and cleaned to high-purity copper granules; only then does it ship as a recycled raw material rather than a waste.
Buying or selling insulated copper wire in volume?
Atlas Copper International supplies #1 and #2 ICW, chops and bare copper grades in container quantities, priced off the LME, FOB Port Everglades — and buys sorted ICW from contractors, demolition firms and yards across Florida.
Get a QuoteFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between #1 and #2 insulated copper wire?
#1 insulated copper wire (ICW) is heavier-gauge, unalloyed, uncoated copper wire with a single layer of insulation — typically THHN/THWN building wire and larger feeder cable — recovering roughly 75–85% copper by weight. #2 ICW is thinner or multi-layer-insulated cable such as Romex/NM-B, extension cords and appliance cord, recovering roughly 50–70%. Buyers pay for the recoverable copper, so #1 ICW earns a higher rate.
What is the copper recovery rate of insulated copper wire?
It depends on the cable. Bare-heavy feeder and MCM cable can recover 85%+ copper; THHN building wire around 75–80%; Romex/NM-B around 60–70%; communications and Cat5/Cat6 cable around 30–45%; and low-grade cord and Christmas lights around 25–35%. Buyers quote insulated wire as an LME-linked price times the expected recovery percentage.
Is it worth stripping insulated copper wire before selling?
Usually only for heavy-gauge wire. Stripping heavy THHN or feeder cable to bare bright (mill berry) can raise the price per pound substantially and the labour is fast per kilo of copper recovered. Thin, multi-strand, or multi-conductor cable is rarely worth stripping by hand — the copper yield per hour is too low. In volume, chopping (granulating) into copper chops beats hand-stripping.
Can insulated copper wire scrap be exported from the USA?
Yes. Insulated copper cable ships under HS heading 7404 (copper waste and scrap) to buyers in markets such as India, Turkey, Southeast Asia and Latin America. It generally does not qualify for China's recycled-copper raw material standard unless it has first been chopped and cleaned to high-purity copper granules. Atlas Copper International supplies ICW in container volumes FOB Port Everglades.