Digital Coax and Meatballs: Three Great Ways to Repurpose Old Cables

So you are the proud owner of a brand new coaxial cable and the time has come to retire the old one. If you have a miscellaneous tangle of old cables, cords, wires and spiders packed in your closet, you are not alone. Rather than add one more to the pile, you may be tempted to throw them all away, but cables and old electronics are not biodegradable and can be bad for the environment. Why toss them in the garbage when you can put them back to work with just a pinch of creativity? To get you started, we have cooked up a recipe to turn that literal rat's nest into a culinary masterpiece. You will need the following ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1/2 minced onion
• 6 feet coaxial cable, chopped
• A pinch of salt

Boil cables in 2 quarts of water until soft. Strain and rinse with cold water. Put cables, onion and ground oregano in pan with vegetable oil. Sauté until golden brown and allow to cool. Best served smothered with meatballs and marinara sauce.

If boiled cables aren't your cup of tea, or if you are allergic to PVC or copper, do not despair just yet; we've compiled an alternative list that is both human and cyborg friendly.

Turn Ordinary Wire into Designer Jewelry
At the heart of most electrical cables is a copper wire. It just so happens that this highly conductive metal is also stocked in craft stores the world over for making homemade jewelry. Digital coaxial cable is particularly good for jewelry making because the copper core is thicker than in most other cables. Bear in mind, however, that it will require a bit of patience to strip away the shielding. You will need wire snips to cut through the PVC jacket and dielectric spacer. If you want to garnish your jewelry with thinner wires, unbraid the protective guard.
With the copper wire in hand, you can let your imagination run wild. Shape the wire with a pair of needle-nose pliers and a hammer, and finish it off with a few decorative beads.

Satisfy Your Inner Scientist with an Electromagnet
This fun little experiment requires a thin, flexible copper wire with the plastic insulation still intact. Other than that, all you really need is a thin piece of easily magnetized metal (we found that a big iron nail worked fine) and a low-voltage battery. Coil the wire around the metal as tightly as possible – the more coils you can squeeze in, the stronger the magnetic field you will generate. Make sure to leave enough loose wire at both ends to connect the battery. For best results, get a battery case to attach the wires; this will be safer and more versatile. You can change the magnetic polarity by flipping the battery.

Do Earth a Favor and Recycle
Recycling is one of the best ways to repurpose old cables, and it is a great choice for the environment. If you can find a special wire recycling plant, both the copper and the plastic coating can be recycled. Metal recycling plants are more common, but they may not accept unstripped cable. If you have the patience to strip your cables in any appreciable amounts, some metal recycling plants will even pay for the wire in cash.

Copper is one of the most highly recyclable materials in the world. Unlike plastic, which can only be recycled a certain number of times before it is no longer useful, copper can be recycled indefinitely. By taking the time to locate a copper recycling plant, you will be reducing the size of landfills and lending new life to the components of those dusty old cables.

Summary
When the time finally comes to face that Technicolor box of cables, remember that these are only a few of the possibilities for repurposing old cables. Weave them into a rope. Use them for twisty ties. Make them into a bouquet, around which you and your loved ones can reminisce about technological days gone by. If that all sounds too complicated for you, just remember to dispose of them properly. Do not just throw them in the garbage. And above all, please do not eat boiled coaxial cable.

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