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How to properly recycle political signs in Austin

If you don't reuse your signs, the Austin Recycle & Reuse Drop-Off Center is asking you not to throw them away but instead drop them off to be properly disposed of.

AUSTIN, Texas — As soon as the polls closed on Election Day, political signs were being pulled up out of the ground. 

"It will take about 10 days to pick up all of the signs," James Maynard said.

Maynard was picking up political signs and getting some of them ready to be recycled. Others will be stored for reuse. 

"This was just from three locations," Maynard said as he showed a pile of signs.

While Maynard was hired to pick up political signs at polling places, there are also signs in yards across the city that cannot be thrown away in a curbside recycling bin. Instead of throwing signs in the trash and into the landfill, the Austin Recycle & Reuse Drop-Off Center has set up a temporary dropbox with no appointment needed. 

"These are the type of materials we are accepting for the drop-off for campaign and election signs," Austin Resource Recovery Public Information Specialist Bailey Grimmett said. "You can see it's the general corrugated plastic signs." 

Grimmett said when you drop the signs off, you do not have to break them down. She also said with every drop-off, people are helping the city reach its goal of zero waste by 2040. 

"That means keeping 90% of discarded materials out of the landfill, and this is just another material that isn't recyclable because it is made of complex materials," Grimmett said. "So, instead of having people throw them away and send them to the landfill, we're like, 'OK, we're going to offer this service so people can come to drop them off and we can keep this other item out of the landfill.'"

The Austin Recycle & Reuse Drop-Off Center is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2514 Business Center Drive. Residents can schedule an appointment here

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