{"id":520378,"date":"2026-11-06T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T08:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/520378\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T08:00:36","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T08:00:36","slug":"dont-trash-those-campaign-signs-sacramento-program-keeps-them-out-of-the-landfill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/520378\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t trash those campaign signs. Sacramento program keeps them out of the landfill"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although votes in California are still being counted, the 2026 midterm elections are done.<\/p>\n

For campaign staffers and volunteers, that means taking down and disposing of all those political signs.<\/p>\n

In Sacramento County, many of the campaign signs are made of thin plastic that is not recyclable. That means thousands of them are destined for the landfill.<\/p>\n

But one local organization has a solution.<\/p>\n

What do I do with a campaign sign after an election?<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Nov. 7, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento ReStore at 819 North 10th St. is hosting an upcycling event where people can drop off the signs or pick them up for reuse.<\/p>\n

“We did it the last six years, maybe eight years,” said organizer Gregg Fishman, who represents Ward 3 on the Sacramento Municipal Utility District Board of Directors.<\/p>\n

The Politics to Art<\/a> initiative was launched after Fishman noticed how many campaign signs were winding up in the trash after each election. The recycling effort is co-sponsored by Habitat for Humanity, Atlas Disposal, Atrium Creative Innovation for Sustainability, and the National Stewardship Action Council.<\/p>\n

According to Fishman, who is awaiting final results of his own re-election bid<\/a>, “campaign signs don’t recycle, and they don’t break down very well.” However, “the material is good for a lot of different things.”<\/p>\n

In past years, people have repurposed the thin plastic from the signs to make school projects, as art canvases, and even model airplanes.<\/p>\n

The plastic material, he said, is also good for protecting young plants in the garden, while the metal H-frames can be used to prop up tomato plants. Fishman himself has used old campaign signs to make a birdhouse.<\/p>\n

Signs can be dropped off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and those interested in picking up old signs for use can get them from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.<\/p>\n

Fishman also expects to see candidates or their staff dropping off signs throughout the day. He plans to head out soon himself to gather his own campaign signs.<\/p>\n

He’d like to see all candidates put their signs to good use now that the election is over. “If you put your signs out in a median strip, please go get them,” he said. “Bring them to our event.”<\/p>\n

\"Belle<\/p>\n

Belle Pearce, campaign finance director for former state Sen. Richard Pan, hangs up campaign signs ahead of Pan\u2019s election night party at Frends Brewhouse in South Natomas on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

When do campaign signs need to be removed after an election?<\/p>\n

Cities and the state of California<\/a> have various rules and regulations regarding how long campaign signs can stay up after an election.<\/p>\n

For example, campaign workers must remove signs placed within sight of state highways within 10 days after an election. For the 2026 midterms, that means campaign signs must be removed by Nov. 13.<\/p>\n

In California, landlords must give their tenants a “reasonable” timeframe before requesting that signs be removed. According to California code, tenants get “at least 15 days” after an election or vote to remove their signs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Although votes in California are still being counted, the 2026 midterm elections are done. For campaign staffers and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-520378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}