Initiative to recycle old campaign signs to be expanded

With the Primary Election approaching on Tuesday, Aug. 20, campaign signs can be seen throughout Greater Oviedo and Winter Springs – on street corners, outside businesses, and beside sidewalks. This can present a challenge when it comes time to take the signs down as they can’t be recycled curbside. 

The League of Women Voters Seminole County, the county and Oviedo residents will come together to help keep the city clean by recycling campaign signs– a sign of community in a time that usually brings polarization. The initiative, created in 2022, is planned to expand this year to have a greater impact. 

Recycling issue 

Candidates must apply for a permit before placing signs in pubic and the application tells candidates that the signs must be picked up 10 days after an election has been decided, a rule that most candidates follow, officials said. However, since the signs can’t be recycled curbside, the cleaned up signs end up going to waste, according to LWVSC member Sharon Lynn. 

The plastic used to make campaign signs, polypropylene, is one of the least recyclable types of plastics, partly because of the way it’s made. It melts at different temperatures than other types of plastic, which means it needs to go to a specific facility to be recycled, according to Lynn. 

These problems are a key reason for the initiative led by LWVSC members Sharon Lynn and Danielle DeVoney. In 2022, they partnered with Seminole County to recycle these signs at a facility – and Oviedo residents showed an outpouring of support. 

In 2022, Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek offered her home, the former Lake Charm Memorial Chapel, as a local drop off spot, making it easier for residents to drop off signs. She then took all the signs to a location in Winter Park where they would be recycled by PureCycle Technologies, a company that has the technology needed to recycle this type of plastic. 

Lynn told Oviedo Community News, “Seminole [county] delivered approximately 3,000 pounds of signs for recycling to PureCycle in Orange County. The public response was encouraging.”

The support of candidates, political parties, and individuals makes Lynn hopeful, she said, that the recycling initiative will continue to be a success. She said, “Once we were able to direct candidates to the transfer station, a number of them did work at cleaning up their own signs. [They] all contributed to the success of the initiative and we are hopeful it will grow this year with anticipated help from other civic groups.” 

The Seminole County Waste Transfer Station is a centrally located facility where signs can be dropped off before they are taken to be recycled. 

Lynn and the League of Women Voters have begun planning the initiative for this year. A Seminole County staff member has already approached LWVSC about partnering again this election cycle, and they plan to combine efforts with the League of Women Voters from Orange and Volusia counties. 

Similar to the last election year, Sladek is also willing to help continue the initiative. “If [there is] a recycle drop spot [in] Winter Park again this year, I will absolutely volunteer Lake Charm Memorial Chapel as a drop spot again,” she said.

As the elections start ramping up and signs on the street increase, Oviedo Community News asked for a timeline on the project.

Looking ahead, the LWVSC and the Seminole County Waste Division aim to expand the program, involving other civic organizations in order to have a greater impact. 

Lynn said, “the county would provide a roll-off at the central transfer station in time for the primary, which would remain through the general election.” A roll-off is a large dumpster, which will temporarily be at a central location in Seminole county. Once all signs are collected after the general election, it will be transferred to PureCycle Technologies. 

For now, residents can keep the initiative in mind. Once primary elections are over, candidates whose race has ended, such as school board members and supervisor of elections, can remove their signs and transfer them to the temporary roll-off. 

Lynn says the initiative’s goal is to foster community involvement with “increasing sustainability and reducing plastic waste.”

Most campaign signs are illegal

Another issue with campaign signs is that many of them are placed illegally throughout the county. According to Oviedo’s senior code enforcement officer, Shakeria Moyer, campaign signs are illegal unless candidates apply for a permit before placing it. This is a requirement in Seminole County cities, except for Lake Mary, Longwood, and Altamonte Springs. 

“There is a campaign sign permit application on the city’s website. The candidates are responsible for the collection of their signs,” Moyer told Oviedo Community News.  

There are also other requirements for sign placement after an application is filled out: 

1. Signs must not be in the public right of way
2. Signs cannot pose a safety hazard
3. All campaign signs should be on private property, not public property
4. All campaign signs shall be removed within 10 days after the election has been decided

Candidates also need to follow guidelines for the size of their signs:

City of Oviedo’s sign code (Courtesy of the City of Oviedo)

While Oviedo Community News was unable to determine which candidates applied for a permit before placing the signs, many signs are in the public right of way, which includes the space surrounding a sidewalk on both sides.

Campaign signs on Central Ave. These signs are considered to be in the right-of-way. (Photo by Aanya Shah)

What you can do

Here are steps you can take if you see a campaign sign where it shouldn’t be and would like to report it. Contact the department within the municipality you live within, not where the possible violation has taken place.

Oviedo Code Enforcement Division

• 407-971-5789

Winter Springs Code Compliance

• Fill out the city’s Code Complaint eForm
• Call 407-327-7975 at any time 

Seminole County

• All code enforcement violation complaints for unincorporated Seminole County should be directed to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office at 407-665-6650 or by using their online form.