Recycle Unsightly Campaign Yard Signs
Regardless of where you stand politically, we think everyone can agree that campaign yard signs are an eyesore, especially after election day. They remain long after the ballots have been counted, sometimes lasting until spring elections. They get dirty with rain, snow, and sludge and make any neighborhood look worse for the wear.
But what can be done about it? The eager supporters who so zealously placed them in our yards, on street corners, and in the lots of homes and dorms surely aren't going to go back out and remove them. Campaign managers aren't going to assign interns to clean up after their candidates. And waste management companies aren't going to just pick them up on their routes.
So that leaves it up to us -- the constituents -- to clean up after both the winners and losers each November. What better way to take care of someone else's trash than to recycle it?
Shawna Coronado from the blog Gardening Nude suggests these four ways to recycle campaign yard signs:
1. Wire frames are recyclable at your local aluminum recycling center - FOR CASH! Make money off of the candidates and feed your family by collecting as many signs as you can and turning them in to the metal recycler.
2. Corrugated plastic campaign signs can be painted over. You can make garage sale signs or wrap them in old holiday wrap to make holiday decorations for your front lawn. Imagine "packages" resting under your pine trees during the holiday season.
3. Paper signs can be cut up and placed under your garden mulch. It functions as an extra layer of weed protection which eventually bio-degrades into the soil.
4. Large political banners are made of weatherproof vinyl tarp-style material which is easily reused as a blanket for the homeless or sewing them into carry-bags and donated to the local library for book bag give-aways.
What are some other creative ways to recycle old campaign signs (other than "signing" someone's yard)? Let us know in the comments!
Source: ChicagoNow.com
Photos: RJL20
