Robin Goldsbury, Liberal candidate, is taking a new approach to campaigning in this federal election.  National Waste Reduction Week kicks off on election day, October 21st.  “We wanted to address waste reduction and the forest of political signs with a positive initiative,” said Goldsbury.  “Our ‘Substance Over Signs’ (SOS) is a local Liberal plan to raise awareness of the importance of everyday recycling and recycling efficiencies within government.”

 

Here’s how it works:

1.  Team Robin will not be providing lawn signs and will only put up arterial road signs, which represents an 83% reduction in sign use compared to a traditional campaign. Liberal supporters are encouraged to make their own “Team Robin” signs and post them in their windows.

 

2.  The local Liberals will be storing, reusing and refitting their signs for subsequent elections. Only signs that are too damaged to be reused will be properly recycled.

 

3.  The Liberal campaign will be using easy to recycle chloroplast signs and shun the less environmentally friendly soft poly signs still in use by the local NDP.

 

4.  To reduce paper waste Robin’s campaign is mainly digital.  Her biggest brochure is a business card directing you to her website, Goldsbury.ca and her FaceBook page/Goldsbury.ca

 

Chloroplast election signs are made out of a hard-polypropylene plastic. Rigid plastics, like the Liberal signs, while more expensive, are easily shredded, cleaned, and made into resin pellets by machine. Those pellets are used to make new plastic products such as planter pots, piping for plumbing, outdoor decking, and other poly plastic products.  Wayne Stetski who served as vice-chair for the Environment and Sustainable Development Committee, continues to use soft poly plastic bag signs that are harder to recycle and end up in the environment and landfills.

 

The “Substance Over Signs” program is part of the local Liberal commitment to follow the waste reduction principles - reduce, reuse and recycle.  For more information on National Waste Reduction Week, check out their website at www.WRWCanada.com