The election's over, but the yard signs live on.
This year, however, an Arlington printing company is giving residents a way to recycle the corrugated plastic signs. That's something most area cities prohibit.
The company can't recycle cardboard signs coated with plastic, but it will take any corrugated plastic political yard sign and convert it into plastic pellets. The service is free.
"Bring 'em on down," said Steve Nevil, sales and marketing director for Inovar Packaging Group, which he estimated cranked out upward of 100,000 of the corrugated campaign signs for the election season, including some for the presidential campaigns. "There's no minimum."
The news delighted Arlington's recycling coordinator, Lorrie Anderle, especially when she learned that the initiative will go on indefinitely. That means city code enforcement employees can now recycle corrugated plastic signs that are illegally placed in medians and rights of way. The city's recycling program doesn't accept such signs.
Kim Mote, Fort Worth's assistant director of environmental management, is glad that these political leftovers will not go to waste.
The city can't accept either paper or plastic campaign signs for recycling, which means they go to the landfill. "I think it's a great idea. I really applaud the company for doing that," Mote said. "I'm a big believer in environmental stewardship.
"Our program is set up on normal household items," Mote said, adding that when something else gets in the mix, "it's like throwing molasses in the gears."
Recycling campaign signs
Drop-off hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m
611 Magic Mile, Suite 205, Arlington, TX 76011
817-277-6666 or 800-285-2235
Source: Inovar Packaging Group Plastic facts
One of the most widely used corrugated-sign plastics is Coroplast Some common uses for recycled Coroplast include automobile battery cases, signal lights, battery cables, brooms, brushes, ice scrapers, oil funnels, bicycle racks, rakes, bins, pallets, sheeting and trays. Coroplast uses polypropylene copolymers, which makes for easy recycling at the end of their useful life. Polypropylene, being a polyolefin, can be recycled into items such as plastic milk cartons and detergent bottles.
Source:
www.coroplast.com