Now that election season has ended and routines are back to normal, one piece of the campaign season still remains — political signs. From front yards and business properties to roadside spots, these signs are everywhere.

So what should people do with them? Keep them, throw them away or recycle them?

Under New Hampshire law, candidates are required to remove all political advertising by the second Friday after the election which is by Nov. 15.

Reagan Bissonnette, executive director at Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) says the answer isn’t so simple.

Many rigid plastic signs are made from Coroplast, the same polypropylene plastic used in yogurt containers and other packaging materials. Although yogurt containers can be recycled at most transfer stations, these facilities usually don’t accept plastic signs, as recycling companies require them to be baled, and transfer stations aren’t set up for that.

“This is a type of plastic that can technically be recycled,” said Bissonnette. “Most communities, if they do accept polypropylene, they’re usually accepting that as just containers with lids.”

But this doesn’t mean political signs need to end up in a landfill or incinerator. Bissonette suggests reusing them in creative ways, such as repurposing signs as covers, using them for kids’ projects, or saving them in case a candidate runs again in the future.

“It’s great to save those signs and reuse them in the future but unfortunately, we do see that a lot of these signs do get thrown away, either in a landfill or to a waste-to-energy facility,” said Bissonnette.

For signs made from plastic film on metal stakes, there are more options. These can be recycled along with plastic grocery bags at stores, and the metal stakes can be reused or recycled.

“If a candidate really wants to go with the most environmentally friendly option, that would probably be the thin plastic film sign because you can recycle that plastic film afterwards,” said Bissonnette.

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com