This year, hundreds of federal and municipal election signs have a second life: towards Louiseville, in Mauricie, where they separate pots of soil in storage.
“They don’t do anything with that,” said horticulturalist André Carbonneau to himself, looking at signs of federal candidates after the elections last September. This is how he came up with the idea of using these pieces of Coroplast (a corrugated polypropylene, plastic used in election signs) to separate the floors of flower pots he cultivates. This prevents those at the top from compacting the soil below. After a call to the deputy of his constituency, Yves Perron, to ask his permission, the matter was settled.
In the heat of the greenhouse at Jardins André Carbonneau, the owner points to a stack of Bloc Québécois signs waiting to be placed.
Yves-François Blanchet is much better with an earthenware pot on it than in a recycling center.
André Carbonneau, joking
The initiative is not partisan: the horticulturalist is the taker of all the electoral posters, all parties combined.
By reusing these signs, the owner of Les Jardins André Carbonneau explains killing two birds with one stone: he is saving money while doing something for the planet. The fact of preparing his pots of soil in the fall, when the number of employees is reduced, allows Mr. Carbonneau to skip this step in the spring, with the larger team, and start planting faster. This is not negligible, due to the labor shortage affecting his garden center.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Stack of Bloc Québécois signs waiting to be placed
To make his greenhouse – now almost empty, apart from a few Christmas pots – flourish, André Carbonneau plans to reuse the signs for at least five years in a row. ” [Justin] Trudeau will hold an election every three years, laughs the horticulturalist. I should be good at providing. ”
Recovering, reusing and repairing is nothing new for Mr. Carbonneau: his father, who opened the center almost 50 years ago, had this philosophy. “My dad used to collect the nails,” the horticulturist laughs.
Believe in “small gestures”
According to Mr. Carbonneau, all small garden centers could use the signs as he does. “In addition, it would just improve their production,” he emphasizes. You just have to take the time to do it, adds the horticulturalist. Besides garden centers, there are undoubtedly other industries that need Coroplast, he believes.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
A second life is being prepared for these signs.
At home, can gardeners also reuse election signs? Probably, argues Mr. Carbonneau. “For trendy garden boxes, they can cover the contour on the inside of Coroplast to prevent the wood from rotting,” he suggests.
For Mr. Carbonneau, taking care of the planet manifests itself “in the small gestures”.
A big company announces 12 years in advance that it is going to do something. I’d rather she do something today.
André Carbonneau
The end of the signs
If he salutes the “small” gesture of Mr. Carbonneau to recover the signs, the best would be for politicians to stop using them altogether, believes Maurice Cloutier, professor at the School of Design at the University of Quebec in Montreal. (UQAM). “There are enough digital tools to show off,” he argues.
Mr. Cloutier fears that politicians are relieving themselves of responsibility by giving away their signs, rather than changing their way of doing things in the long term. Especially in Montreal, election signs are plentiful. “There could be more control on this plan”, estimates the professor.
Okay for the end of election signs, but not right away, argues André Carbonneau. “Give me 12 years,” he said. I don’t know if we are there yet. [Les pancartes] are part of our folklore. ”