Whether as part of a marketing campaign for a business or collateral for an event, most types of signage have a limited lifespan due to the passing nature of their use cases. Before you consign used or old signage to the bin, however, you may want to consider if it can be recycled to prevent it from wasting away in a landfill.
In Australia, a significant portion of waste generated by businesses or commercial use ends up being disposed of in a landfill. This contributes to the growing problem of waste, as most disposed signage is not biodegradable and will take a long time to break down naturally, if at all.
Doing your part to recycle old signage is a good step towards reducing waste. That being said, recycling signage can be tricky — not all materials can be recycled, so it’s important to know what can or can’t go in the recycling bin.
What To Know About Recycling Old Signage
Recycling old signage is possible, but it comes down to what type of material the signage is made from.
Commonly used materials for signage include:
- Heavy staining - Tupperware that is used to store foods like curries or spicy foods can absorb the colours, staining the plastic.
- Persistent odours – Tupperware can develop a nasty smell from all the types of food they’ve contained. Strong unpleasant smells can also be a sign of bacterial residue or growth, which makes the containers unsanitary for use.
- Acrylic – Clear or coloured hard plastic surface that is ideal for permanent sign fixtures.
- Vinyl – Weather-resistant material that offers versatile use as banners, decals, or posters.
- Aluminium composite – Solid-core signage that is commonly applied in outdoor environments.
In Australia, there are only a small handful of recycling facilities stating that they accept used or old signage, making it difficult to carry out responsible and sustainable disposal.
What Kinds of Signage Materials Can Be Recycled?
Vinyl
Despite not being a readily recyclable material globally, most types of vinyl signage can be recycled in Australia. Also known as Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), this material is accepted at recycling facilities as long as it is free from dirt or contamination and submitted in bulk quantities. Individual vinyl signage is not likely to be accepted for recycling – it may be better to store it until it forms a larger collection that can be delivered at once.
Acrylic
Acrylic sheets will require specialised equipment for recycling, and only select facilities in Australia have the capacity to do so. Still, it is worth submitting used acrylic signs for recycling as the material can be repurposed for other plastic products.
Aluminium
Aluminium composite signs are one of the easiest types of signs to recycle. The aluminium content in the signs is valuable and can be easily separated during the recycling process to be reused. However, it’s also common for aluminium signs to come in large sizes, making them difficult to transport through conventional means.
Corflute
Corflute can technically be recycled, but only under specific conditions. It’s a difficult material to recycle due to the complex processes involved and the high chance of recycling contaminants appearing in the processed material that make it unusable. To recycle corflute signage, all other attached materials must be removed (stickers, metal eyelets, cable ties) as these could contaminate the recycling process.
What Kinds of Signage Materials Cannot Be Recycled?
Polyester mesh
Polyester mesh material is difficult to recycle for the same reason as soft plastics — the flexible characteristic of the material makes sorting and processing very challenging. Currently, polyester mesh is not accepted at most recycling facilities in Australia.
How To Recycle Old Signage
When deciding to recycle old signage, there are a couple of general best practices that should be applied to ensure proper disposal.
- Clean the signage
Be sure to remove any dirt, dust, or foreign materials like stickers from the signage. This is especially important when recycling campaign signage, as these usually end up with lots of stickers. In general, if it’s not made from the same material as the rest of the sign, separate it.
- Gather signage for disposal in batches
Recycling facilities usually require old signage to be neatly separated into batches based on their material. Be sure to sort out the used signage into individual piles to ensure a quicker and more efficient collection and off-loading.
- Use a rubbish removal service
Rubbish removal services work on behalf of organisations and individual households to collect, load, and transport old signage to an appropriate recycling facility. This is especially useful for cases where large-sized or bulk amounts of signage need to be disposed of. A rubbish removal service will take on the responsibility of sorting the old signage and recycle any eligible materials as part of the proper disposal process.
Ridly Rubbish Removal is a trusted removalist for old signage across all of Sydney City and the surrounding suburbs. We collect all types of used signage as part of our commercial rubbish removal services, including electronic or digital signs.