Guides · second lives
What to do with empty wooden spools
Checked 9 November 2026 — With empty wooden spools you have four choices, in this order: send steel and returnable reels back to their maker; send a full truckload of qualifying nailed reels to a take-back program; sell or give sound reels for reuse as reels, tables or farm reels; and recycle the broken ones. Burning and landfill are the last resort.
From the reel desk · Checked 9 November 2026
1. Send back what is not yours
Steel reels and any reel tagged as returnable belong to the maker. Southwire's steel reels, for example, carry a charge credited only if the reel is returned within 12 months. Log the serial number and start the return.
2. Use a take-back program if you qualify
Sonoco EcoReel, AFL and Service Wire collect full truckloads of sound nailed wood reels. AFL and Service Wire start at 30-inch flanges, and Service Wire takes only its own reels. If you have the load, it is free and the reels go straight back into service.
3. Reuse
Most leftover spools are in ones and twos, or mixed loads. Sound ones have many uses:
- As reels again for contractors and shops who wind their own wire, rope or hose.
- As tables, from 23-inch side tables to 48-inch outdoor tables for four.
- On farms, for poly pipe, irrigation line, hose and fencing wire.
- In gardens, as hose winders, planters and stands.
- As material, taken apart for seasoned boards.
The desk matches reels to these buyers, so reusable spools in the capital region rarely need to go to waste.
4. Recycle
Rotten, split and delaminated spools are taken apart: steel to scrap, sound boards salvaged, the rest to wood recycling. Plywood and treated wood are kept separate.
Last resort
Burning wastes wood and may release treatments and paints. Landfill wastes it too, and many landfills charge by weight; reels are heavy.
A quick decision guide
| You have | Do this |
|---|---|
| Steel or tagged reels | Return to the maker |
| A truckload of one maker's sound nailed reels | Call that maker or Sonoco |
| A few sound reels | Reuse; send the desk a request |
| Mixed, plywood or part loads | Send the desk a request |
| Broken reels | Recycle; choose "Recycle reels" |
Before you buy a spool
| Use | Flange | What matters most |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee or side table | 30 to 36 in | A flat, uncracked top flange and a height of 16 to 26 in on end |
| Patio or dining table | 36 to 48 in | Overall width near 28 to 30 in, so chairs fit under the top |
| Hose, rope or wire winding | 24 to 42 in | A round arbor hole and a drum that turns true on a shaft |
| Re-spooling cable | 30 to 60 in | Drum diameter and traverse matched to the cable's bend radius and length |
| Displays, venues, farms | 48 to 72 in | Somewhere firm to set it down, and a machine to do it |
- Look at both flanges. Cracks that run across the grain, split rims and loose tie rods are what fail first. Ask for photos of each face.
- Check for nails. Run a hand round the rim and the drum; anything standing proud gets pulled or set before use.
- Ask about treatment before a spool goes indoors, into a garden bed or near food. Some reels are preservative-treated; most are plain lumber.
- Plan the last fifty feet. Under about 36 inches, two people carry it. Up to 48, a ramp and two people. Above that, forks, a loader or a tractor.
- Matched sets come from one job or one maker. Say if the spools must match in size, stencil or colour.
What to put in a request
- Count and measure. Count the reels and measure the largest flange edge to edge across the face. A photo with the tape in it is better than a guess.
- Check the build. Nailed lumber, plywood sheet, steel or plastic. Look for a stencil or tag naming the maker and the reel number.
- Set aside steel and tagged returnables with their serial numbers. Those go back to the maker, not to the desk.
- Say where they stand: yard, dock, garage level, alley or curb, plus clearance, gate hours, badging or escort a driver needs.
- Say what loads them: forklift, pallet jack, loader, ramp, or only people. Reels over 42 inches weigh more than 100 lb empty.
- Say how often: one time, weekly, monthly or at each job close-out.
- Buying instead? Give the flange and height you want, how many, and how the reel gets from the truck to where it will sit.
- No form handy? Email info@dcwoodenspools.com with the same details and a few photos.
Questions the desk gets
What should I do with a few empty wooden spools?
If they are sound, they can be reused as tables, hose winders or working reels; the desk collects them on runs through your area. If broken, they can be recycled.
Can I put wooden spools out with the trash?
Most curbside collection will not take large wood items. Check your local rules, or have them collected for reuse or recycling instead.
Will the store or distributor take them back?
Some branches collect returns from their customers. Ask. Steel reels with a reel charge should always go back.
Sources
Each opened and read on 9 November 2026.
- AFL, Wood Reel Recycling Program: nailed wood only, no plywood; flanges at least 1½ in thick and 30 in across; 75% of staves; full truckloads; mainly East Coast and Midwest
- Sonoco, EcoReel Recycling Program: free pickup of truckloads of viable nailed wood and polyfiber reels; reels repaired and returned to wire and cable makers; reels-per-truckload table
- Service Wire, Reel Return: Service Wire labelled nailed wood reels with 30 to 72 in flanges, full truckloads only
- Southwire, Steel Reel Policy: steel reels carry a charge, credited if returned within 12 months of shipment