After the elections, there are still all those signs ...

November 6, 2018 11:38 AM

After the political races are run, there's the need to deal with election litter (Wikipedia) and post-election clutter. Beyond being reused in the next election cycle (CTV), there are plenty (Tennessean reader ideas) of creative (HackALife) and different uses (Houston Chronicle listicle, deslidified), including turning sturdy corrugated plastic into free materials to help people with disabilities (PBS News Hour). [Not a political thread]
posted by filthy light thief (14 comments total)

Inspired by a comment by a MeFite (I forgot who, sorry!) who said that they like to use the metal frames for trellises or tomato cages, or something like that (yeah, really fuzzy here, sorry again!).
posted by filthy light thief at 11:40 AM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

This is deeply cool. Thank you!
posted by seyirci at 12:20 PM on November 6, 2018

This one from theora55 on AskMeFi?
posted by sysinfo at 12:20 PM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

Yup, that's the question, thanks!
posted by filthy light thief at 12:21 PM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

Back when I lived in New Orleans (which has elections at seemingly random times throughout the year) some friends and I once used a bunch of those corrugated signs to make the "planking" for a Viking ship float. It was a big hit on Frenchmen St that Halloween.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 2:13 PM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

My experience is that political lawn signs make surprisingly good toboggans.
posted by 256 at 2:23 PM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

I used recycled signs from the primaries to protest Kavanaugh. Just turn them inside out for a fresh sign. I have wondered if corrugated plastic could be useful for siding or roofing. And I plan to talk to folks in the Democratic party about standardizing the sizes of the wire frames so they can be re-used, saving campaign cash and litter.

Cool info about corrugated plastic.
posted by theora55 at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

I've seen myogear people using these as frame sheets in diy back packs. Haven't done the math on weight, though.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 7:57 PM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

These estate agents's boards in London seem to be made of the same stuff. Here they are being used as roof tiles.
posted by Paul Slade at 12:33 AM on November 8, 2018

The stuff kinks along its internal corrugation, so it's not super-durable -- but for lightweight, non-load-bering uses, it's super quick to cut and fold and shape. I think you can use heat to melt pieces together; I would use glue or Kam Snaps.

For example, you can make boxes to hold archival documents, or cut out small pieces to divide large drawers.

Here's a big Pinterest page of ideas.

But this image really sparks my imagination!
posted by wenestvedt at 8:38 AM on November 8, 2018

This slide deck is....very thorough.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:14 AM on November 8, 2018

One more thing: the word I just discovered is sliceform -- drop that into Google's Image Search and check out the wonders that await. (Same for parametric.)

Gather up the discarded signs now, then print out some plans and be set for the snowy months ahead!
posted by wenestvedt at 12:51 PM on November 8, 2018

Also, "slotted sculpture."

Dude, I have to stop...
posted by wenestvedt at 12:54 PM on November 8, 2018

The stuff kinks along its internal corrugation

At least for frame sheets on diy packs, the anisotropy is a feature: you want something that can curve a bit around the contents of the pack, but remain vertically stiff. In fact, the curvature in the transverse plane improves stiffness in the coronal and sagittal planes.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 10:17 PM on November 8, 2018 [1 favorite]