Coronado’s front yards are filled with thousands of campaign signs in anticipation of the upcoming election. These signs help promote candidates, but they also create an environmental hazard as they cannot be recycled and end up polluting our landfill for generations.
Our local waste provider, EDCO, confirmed that the corrugated plastic signs and metal stakes are ineligible for our local curbside recycling. The metal stakes are also problematic when mistakenly placed in recycling bins as they can jam the recycling machinery.
Keeping signs and stakes out of landfill requires finding alternate ways to repurpose and reuse these items.
REUSE: If candidates would consider running for office again, they should keep their signs to reuse in future campaigns.
REPURPOSE: The plastic signs can be cut to any size and shape and painted for different uses while the metal stakes can support tall plants in the garden.
RETURN: If you are unable to reuse or repurpose either the plastic or metal parts of a sign, be sure to return campaign yard signs to the candidate. Emerald Keepers contacted all Coronado City Council and School Board candidates requesting they collect signs and dispose of them correctly. One week after the election, Emerald Keepers will collect the metal stakes from candidates and take them to a scrap metal facility off-island to be melted down for reuse. Contact your candidates to confirm collection locations and dates.
Emerald Keepers celebrates our citizen’s political engagement while striving to keep our community Emerald Green, Ocean Blue.
