Latest news with #corflute
News.com.au
6 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Randwick Council votes to consider ban on election corflutes on power poles
A local Sydney council has voted to consider a total ban on election corflutes on all public infrastructure, citing 'visual pollution' and a perceived 'impost on campaigns' for the move. Randwick Council voted 9-5 on Tuesday night to pass a motion from Greens councillor Masmoomeh Asgari for council staff to report on reducing election waste material and banning corflutes on council property, including parking poles. 'In the past three years we have had two federal elections, a state election and a local government election and in each case large amounts of waste have been produced in the form of corflutes and paper (how-to-votes and flyers) in order to inform voters about candidates, their policies and how they should vote,' the motion states. 'Corflute waste is a particular issue in Randwick. Ausgrid have banned them on telegraph poles, so the main display structures are council's parking poles and the like. 'This annoys residents due to the visual pollution, the inconvenience of placement and the litter, including from plastic ties. 'Informing voters is essential in a democracy but it's time to investigate how this can be done with less waste.' The potential ban follows a burst of corflute controversy in the May 3 federal election, including furious debate over where exactly corflutes are permitted. Footage of federal independent MP Monique Ryan's husband Peter Jordan pulling down a corflute of Liberal challenger Amelia Hamer went viral on social media during the heated Kooyong contest in Melbourne. The footage shows Mr Jordan walking away with the Hamer placard, with a Liberal Party supporter pursuing him. Mr Jordan claims the sign had been illegally placed on public land. 'I'm taking the sign down … it's on public land … I'm not saying who I am,' Mr Jordan says in the video. Responding to the kerfuffle, the Australian Electoral Commission said it did not regulate the placement of political signage. 'Signage on public land is generally a matter for local council,' the AEC said. Later, Mr Jordan apologised for the blow up. 'I unreservedly apologise for removing the sign. It was a mistake,' he said. 'I believed the sign was illegally placed, but I should have reported my concerns to council.' South Australia, meanwhile, has banned corflutes from public roads, trees and poles in state and federal elections. Randwick, which takes in Sydney's eastern beach suburbs, sits within the federal electorates of Wentworth and Kingsford Smith. Liberal councillor Christie Hamilton voted against the motion on Tuesday night, telling NewsWire candidate posters served an important democratic function. 'I don't think we should ban them everywhere,' she said. 'They trigger for people that there is an election coming. It is up to the parties and candidates to do all they can do to put their candidates out there and it needs to be visual. 'It can't just be words on a page, they need to see who the person is. And if they see them on the street, they can come up and talk to them. 'It's part of the democratic process.' Ms Hamilton said Ms Asgari's motion had come about because of Greens anger over their corflutes being taken down during campaigns. 'Everyone gets their corflutes taken down,' she said. '(Liberal Wentworth candidate) Ro Knox had her corflutes taken down. There's nothing you can do about it. 'She (Ro Knox) put up funny stickers saying, 'please don't steal my corflutes'. You try to combat it with a bit of humour.' A report on the motion is expected within six months and Ms Hamilton said that vote on the report's recommendation would be the crucial one to watch for. 'When it comes back with the recommendation, that's when the real fight will start,' she said. 'I don't think Labor (councillors) will do it.'
ABC News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Corflutes removed and recycled as 2025 federal election concludes
For the past five weeks, federal election candidates' names and faces have been everywhere — billboards, flyers, unsolicited text messages and, of course, corflutes. A beaming face or catchy slogan cable-tied to a front yard fence or light post has become as much a part of election season as a sizzling sausage or a stubby pencil. But now the polls have closed, the pencils have been packed away, and the vote count is nearly done — one question remains. What happens to all the corflutes? Corflute explained Corflute is actually a brand name for the corrugated plastic product made by Victorian manufacturer Corex. Like Band-Aids, Eskies and Tupperware, it has become a generic term — a classic case of brand-name takeover. The material is polypropylene, a by-product of the oil refining process, which Corex said could be endlessly re-used when recycled properly. Corex says corflutes can be repeatedly recycled. ( Supplied: Corex ) However, that does not mean the signs will be sent direct to kerbside recycle bins. Corex said the material was not suited for yellow-lid bins as added metal eyelets or PVC pockets could contaminate the recycling process. Instead, the company runs an in-house recycling program that handles thousands of used signs. The other option is to take signs to a facility that accepts polypropylene plastics. Election fallout and analysis: Want even more? Here's where you can find all our 2025 Catch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on When to take them down There are no national rules on when election signage must be removed, though some councils enforce their own deadlines. The Australian Electoral Commission recommends checking the local regulations. Beyond that, it is up to candidates and supporters to manage the clean-up. Karly Stephens removes a corflute for recycling. ( ABC Goulburn Murray: Annie Brown ) Corex's in-house recycling service accepts all corflute-like materials and sees a major business spike after elections. Campaign signs are shredded, melted down and pressed into pellets and the Corflute begins its life cycle again. "We have a huge spike after every federal election," Corex communications manager Zita Watkin said. "Since January this year, we've actually paused recycling other materials coming in to make way for what's happening [now]." After the 2022 federal election, Corex received 230 tonnes of used corflute — equivalent to 368,000 standard-sized signs. More than 200 tonnes of corflutes were recycled from the 2022 election. ( Supplied: Corex ) Creative re-use Some corflutes are a little worse for wear by the end of a gruelling campaign. Sometimes the damage is weather-related while others have been vandalised or completely ripped and removed. Photo shows A line of election corflutes dug into the ground During an election campaign our streets are full of corflutes: beaming signs of political hope. But what happens to them after the last box is ticked and the last squirt of sauce hits the sausage? Recently re-elected member for Wentworth Allegra Spender sends her used signs back to Corex to be recycled into new material. Helen Haines, the independent member for Indi, said she sent some of her corflutes to local theatre companies where they were painted for use as backdrops or props in productions. Unsuccessful independent candidate for Farrer, Michelle Milthorpe, said she hoped to re-use her signage in a future parliamentary tilt. "And for those that do not know, the corflute can be used to make native bee hives," said ABC Your Say respondent Peter Noonan, from Far North Queensland. "Just google it." The ABC has contacted Labor and Liberal campaigns to ask if they have party-wide reuse or recycling strategies.
