ORLANDO, Fla. – With the Aug. 20 primary in the rear-view, Seminole County and the cities of Orlando and Winter Park are hoping you will help put those political campaign signs to better use than just throwing them in the trash.
The League of Women Voters is once against partnering with companies like PureCycle and NuCycle, along with Seminole County, Orlando and Winter Park to collect campaign signs and send them to a plant to be turned into fuel.
“Let’s be real. The political signs are the highest volume contributors to waste that goes into the landfill,” said PureCycle CEO Dustin Olson, which is working with Seminole County.
Olson said those signs are made of polypropylene.
With their technology, PureCycle can clean them off and convert them into sustainable recycled material, which could be used for almost anything.
“If you just get inside your car and think of the polypropylene around you. The dashboard might be made out of polypropylene, the door panel, the carpet might be made out of polypropylene,” said Olson.
NuCycle Energy in Plant City is taking the signs from Orlando and Winter Park.
CEO Mark Barasch said they’ll chop up those signs and combine them with foam, wood and other materials to create fuel.
“This is a broken down enviro fuel cube (EFC). It’s cardboard, paper and plastic blended. What it does is replace coal,” said Barasch.
Barasch said the cubes are 80% carbon neutral and a cleaner alternative to coal.
He said they have the added benefit of keeping these materials out of landfills.
The cities have been collecting the campaign signs and sending them to NuCycle Energy since the November 2020 election. According to the city of Winter Park, in 2022 they collected almost 6 tons of signs to be recycled.
Collection runs through Sunday, Sept. 1 at the following locations:
ORLANDO:
- Orlando Solid Waste - 1028 Woods Avenue, Orlando
- Broadway Methodist Church - 406 E. Amelia Street Orlando
- First Unitarian Church of Orlando - 1901 East Robinson Street Orlando
WINTER PARK:
- Cady Way Pool at 2529 Cady Way
- Mead Botanical Garden Community Garden at 1310 South Denning Drive
- Fire Station 64 at 1439 Howell Branch Road
In Seminole County, collection goes through Sept. 3 at the Central Transfer station on State Road 419 in Longwood.
Officials reminder people to separate any metal or wooden stakes from the campaign signs when you recycle them.
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