We can have democracy without the plastic waste

They say the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. In Australia, it seems the price of democracy is tonnes of plastic rubbish that is not eternal but may as well be.

I’m talking about corflutes, those ubiquitous signs featuring beaming politicians and wannabes that dominate our suburbs and towns during elections.

The James Brown campaign truck dumping corflutes at a Sydney tip in May 2025.

A rough and ready estimate suggests that a federal election generates at least 1 million of these signs – and it is becoming a problem.

My numbers are based on intel from a Sydney printer who worked for two candidates in the recent federal election and asked to remain anonymous. He shared that each campaign had ordered 2000 corflutes apiece.

Now, some candidates might use more, and others less. But if five candidates in 140 seats – which excludes the 10 South Australian seats where public election signage is now banned – order, say, 1500 corflutes each, that is more than 1 million.

The signs are fully recyclable, but that doesn’t mean they are fully recycled. In fact, they’re already turning up in landfill.

This masthead has obtained a photo of a truck emblazoned with the livery of Liberal candidate James Brown dumping his corflutes at a Sydney tip. Brown ran unsuccessfully against teal independent Sophie Scamps.

Corflutes outside New Farm State School in the electorate of Brisbane.Credit: Rosanna Ryan

A spokesperson for the NSW Liberals said the party ran a recycling campaign and candidates were supplied with information after the election. A spokesperson for the Brown campaign said they had followed the advice of their local waste facility.

Visual Media Association chief executive Kellie Northwood said the signs also became litter.

“We have received complaints that corrugated plastic board, and bunting plastics are being found from waterways, schoolyards and community areas,” she said.

A quick note: Northwood is using the term “corrugated plastic board” and the Sydney printer referred to “fluted plastic sheet” where most of us just say “corflute”. This is because technically, capital-C “Corflute” is a brand name of Melbourne-based firm Corex.

Corex makes its product in Australia and runs a recycling program, collecting the signs from interstate and recycling them in their Melbourne facility.

Across Australia, many candidates – such as independents Allegra Spender, Kate Chaney and Monique Ryan – have posted online stating that they are collecting corflutes to recycle or reuse next time.

There are other places that recycle corflutes, but it is usually limited – for example, Randwick City Council offers it, but only for residents and ratepayers.

Corex estimates that it took back 200-250 tonnes of corflute for recycling in the 12 months after the 2022 election. Given each corflute weighs about 400 grams, that equates to 500,000-625,000 signs.

But Corex’s recycling plant has been deluged with a growing amount of competing product – twin-wall polypropylene sheet imported from South-East Asia.

The tragedy is that the signs don’t actually have to be made of plastic at all.

Northwood said the industry was keen for election candidates to move to specialised cardboard that is made in Australia, recyclable in household collections, and designed to “withstand outdoor elements whilst maintaining structural rigidity”.

So far, no major party has taken this up.

Get to the heart of what’s happening with climate change and the environment. Sign up for our fortnightly Environment newsletter.