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Boston Mountain Solid Waste is offering help recycling election signs.

The service runs until the end of November.

Taylor Osburn is the Sustainability Coordinator with Boston Mountain Solid Waste District.

Osburn says residents can bring used yard signs to the facility in Prairie Grove.

Signs can also be dropped at the Election Commission office in Washington County and Madison County.

Both recycling drop-offs in Fayetteville are also accepting election signs.

The question many people ask is why not just throw the signs away.

Osburn says anything kept out of the landfill is beneficial.

It helps save landfill space.

These signs can also be recycled locally.

The signs are taken to Alternative Plastics in Gentry.

There they are turned into re-grind.

The re-grind is used in new plastic products.

Those products include totes, crates and paint buckets.

Osburn says you get what would be trash and give it new life by recycling it.

The process for dropping off signs is straightforward.

You come behind the blue building at the Prairie Grove facility.

You will see an enclosed trailer where you can put your signs.

A big sign for election sign recycling is posted by the trailer.

You can also recycle the metal stands.

The facility asks that people separate the stands from the sign if possible.

Then put both in the collection trailer.

The metal stands will also be recycled.

The stands go to TRG, which is the metal scrap recycling facility.

They become various new steel products.

The service is available through the end of November.

Boston Mountain Solid Waste recently helped compost pumpkins after Halloween.

Now they are turning their attention to the post-election waste stream.

Election signs are typically made of corrugated plastic.

This material is difficult to break down in a landfill.

Metal stands are often thrown away even though they are fully recyclable.

The program aims to capture both materials before they reach the landfill.

The recycling drop-off locations in Fayetteville make it convenient for more residents.

Washington County and Madison County election offices are also collection points.

This is not the first time Boston Mountain Solid Waste has offered this service.

They run similar programs after each election cycle.

The goal is to reduce the volume of waste generated by political campaigns.

Thousands of signs are typically discarded after Election Day.

Most end up in landfills or littering roadsides.

The program gives residents an alternative.

Osburn emphasized that the signs are actually valuable as raw material.

The plastic can be ground down and reused multiple times.

The metal stands are equally valuable as scrap steel.

Both materials have established recycling markets.

The challenge is getting people to bring them in.

Many voters simply throw signs in the trash out of convenience.

Others leave them on curbsides hoping they will be picked up.

Neither method results in recycling.

The Boston Mountain Solid Waste program is designed to make recycling easy.

Residents do not need to call ahead or make an appointment.

They simply drive to the drop-off location and place signs in the trailer.

The metal stands are collected separately for scrap processing.

The plastic signs are baled and shipped to the recycling facility.

The entire process takes just a few minutes.

Osburn says the response so far has been positive.

People want to do the right thing with their signs.

They just need a place to take them.

The program fills that gap.

Election sign recycling is a niche service.

Most municipal recycling programs do not accept the signs.

The material is too large for curbside carts.

It also requires special handling to separate the plastic from the metal.

Boston Mountain Solid Waste has the equipment and relationships to process both.

The program is funded through normal operations.

There is no additional cost to residents.

The service is available to anyone in the district.

The district covers several counties in northwest Arkansas.

Residents outside the district can still participate.

They just need to confirm their local drop-off location.

The Election Commission offices are open during regular business hours.

The recycling drop-offs in Fayetteville have extended hours.

The Prairie Grove facility is open Monday through Friday.

Weekend hours are limited.

Osburn encourages people to check the website for current hours.

The program runs through the end of November.

After that, signs will no longer be accepted.

Any signs left after the deadline will need to go to the landfill.

The timing is intentional.

Most campaigns remove their signs within a few weeks of the election.

By the end of November, nearly all signs should be down.

The program gives people a full month to collect and drop off signs.

This is enough time for most residents.

Osburn says the district is prepared for a large volume of signs.

Election years typically generate more waste than off years.

The 2026 midterm elections produced a high number of contested races.

More candidates means more signs.

More signs means more potential waste.

The recycling program is one way to offset that impact.

Boston Mountain Solid Waste is a public agency.

Their mission is to reduce waste and promote recycling.

The election sign program fits that mission.

It also builds goodwill with the community.

People appreciate having a place to take their signs.

They also appreciate knowing the signs are actually being recycled.

The program is transparent about the end use of the materials.

Plastic signs become new plastic products.

Metal stands become new steel products.

Nothing goes to waste.

Osburn says this is the best outcome for everyone.

The environment benefits.

The community benefits.

The landfill benefits from reduced volume.

The program is simple, effective and free.

Residents just need to know it exists.

The district is spreading the word through social media and local news.

They are also posting signs at the drop-off locations.

The goal is to reach as many people as possible.

Every sign recycled is one less sign in the landfill.

Every metal stand recycled is one less piece of steel buried.