Recycle This Pittsburgh

Yard Signs

About These Items

Plastic yard signs for campaigns and causes are popular in lawns throughout the region, particularly leading up to major elections. There are several kinds of yard signs, made from different variations of plastic, but these signs, including their metal stands, are not accepted in the City of Pittsburgh’s curbside recycling. However, for Fall 2020, the City is offering a drop-off program to collect and recycle these signs and certain kinds of signs can be dropped off at other local recycling channels. (see below for more details)

Drop-off for recycling.

Drop-off at Signs N’At

Local sign business Signs N’At collects the corrugated plastic and plastic film signs (not the coated cardboard signs), metal stands and all, for recycling.

Drop-off flexible plastic signs at plastic film recycling locations.

There are some local locations where you can drop off flexible film plastics for recycling, including flexible plastic yardsigns (but not the metal stands.) The Plastic Film Recycling.org site keeps an up-to-date list that is searchable by zip code.
These local chains typically have plastic film collection bins on site:

• Giant Eagle
• Target
• Lowe’s
• Whole Foods

Drop-off the metal stands with scrap metal.

The metal stands can be removed from the plastic sign portion and recycled at a scrap metal collection location:

Popup Dropoffs occasionally occur.

For Fall 2020, the City of Pittsburgh’s collected plastic yard signs for recycling for several weeks at 3 of the city’s drop-off centers. This program also accepted flexible plastic film signs as well as corrugated plastic signs, and the metal stands from both. It’s no longer active but given the response it’s possible the city may hold similar popups in the future following elections.