Election day is over and political signs are disappearing from yards and intersections. But where do they go?
Some might end up in the rusty blue dumpster outside Central Recycling Services on N. Sitka Road. At the moment it sits with one lonely campaign sign inside. It’s the beginning of the company’s collection.
“We see them all over and they litter the streets,” said Resource Manager Nate Kruk. “We figured there’s got to be a place for them instead of the landfill.”
He says people can drop off their old vinyl political signs for free. If he can collect about 4,000 pounds of them, the company will ship them off to be melted back into crude oil. But that’s about 2,000 signs, depending on the size.
Kruk says if they don’t get enough, the signs can be reused instead as insulation for cabins or underneath flooring.
“You put em underneath linoleum. Some people use cardboard, some people use special foam, and from what I’ve heard these signs do a pretty good job.”
Others use them to line their chicken coops because they’re easy to hose off. The signs can also be turned into ramps for guinea pigs, spray painted to look like holiday decorations, or saved in case your candidate of choice ever runs again.
Anne Hillman is the healthy communities editor at Alaska Public Media and a host of Hometown, Alaska. Reach her at ahillman@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Anne here.
