Partnership will result in cost savings for Washington taxpayers and major reductions in energy consumption.
Over the next three years, many Washington State road signs needing to be replaced will be refurbished and reused, thanks to a partnership recently inked between the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Northwest Sign Recycling.
Prineville, Ore.-based Northwest Sign Recycling uses state-of-the-art hydrostripping technology that uses only water to remove old sign laminates without harming the integrity of the aluminum or corrosion-resistant coatings. The water is recycled for future use. Blank aluminum signs are returned in prime condition and ready for new high-intensity prismatic laminates, which are now required by the Federal Government.
The sign refurbishing process reduces the need to sell scrap aluminum, sand blanks, or buy new signs, which not only saves money but reduces energy consumption.
“When it came time to make a decision on how to replace our aging road signs, we had a choice between managing the sale of scrap aluminum and buying new signs or choosing a vendor that could handle the reclamation process,” said Dave Fernald, state sign shop manager for the Washington State Department of Transportation. “Recycling provides a cost savings, it’s a process that minimizes harm to the environment and it just makes good business sense.”
Operating since 2004, Northwest Sign Recycling also manages aluminum sign refurbishing for the Oregon Department of Transportation.
“States that are choosing to refurbish aluminum signs are saving thousands of dollars,” said Wendie Every, co-owner of Northwest Sign Recycling. “This affords municipalities the opportunity to comply with new Federal reflectivity standards. And, refurbishing aluminum highway signs is simply the responsible thing to do. ”
WSDOT produces a variety of styles and sizes of signs, averaging 7,000 square feet of aluminum per month. Recently, WSDOT sent a total of 37,000 square feet of sign material to Prineville to be processed, which will be stripped clean and ready to reface.
About Northwest Sign Recycling
Using cutting-edge hyrostripping technology, Northwest Sign Recycling, based in Prineville, Ore., transforms aging, weathered or damaged aluminum signs into clean, reusable blanks for earth- and budget-conscious agencies and municipalities across the Western United States. Using only water, which they recycle, signs are totally cleaned of all previous laminate. They also offer refacing services for those locations that don’t have onsite sign shops. Since 2004, Northwest Sign Recycling’s refurbishing services have saved government agencies, and therefore taxpayers, millions of dollars in new signage costs and have dramatically reduced the energy consumption required for aluminum production.
