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Outdoor-advertising companies are commissioning vendors to develop products that help protect the environment.
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Taking measures to be environmentally conscious isn’t new for the outdoor-advertising industry. For years, the industry has been committed to using recyclable and recycled materials whenever possible and finding additional uses for used billboard vinyl.
After a hurricane ravages a community, a sea of FEMA-issued tarps covers the damaged roofs of homes and businesses. Often, the sea of many colors comprises used billboard vinyl donated to cover hundreds of damaged structures. In the hurricane belts, outdoor companies don’t ship out used vinyl until post-hurricane season.
Now, however, the outdoor-ad industry stands at the threshold of a new generation of eco-friendly products and initiatives that will positively impact the Earth and skies, and even promote worker safety.
New non-vinyl substrates
More than 20 years ago, the outdoor industry began using computer-printed vinyl, which allowed images to be rendered more quickly, cleanly and durably. Today, new recyclable, lighter-weight substrates being developed reduce solid waste and make installation safer and easier.
Circle Graphics is one such company. Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO) approached the company several years ago to see if it could create 100% recyclable, flexible-face materials. Mike Deeds, executive vice president, operations, for CCO, said, through the two companies’ synergy, Eco-Flexx was developed to meet the outdoor industry’s long-standing goal.
Rod Rackley, Circle Graphics’ executive vice president, explained, “Eco-Flexx is a lightweight, non-PVC, recyclable, vinyl-replacement material. Because it’s 100% polyethylene, it can be easily recycled. The recycled polyethylene resin can be used again to make various new products. Circle Graphics will organize the recycling of the material as needed, though several polyethylene recycling companies exist throughout the country.”
A 14 x 48-ft. Eco-Flexx substrate weighs approximately 20 lbs, versus the typical 75 lbs. for a 14 x 48-ft. PVC flex. According to Bill Murphy, executive vice president, national operations manager at CBS Outdoor, the new substrate would not only represent an environmental coup for the industry, but substantially reduce the weight of the industry’s most frequently handled product.
Murphy said, “That will save labor and reduce reliance on expensive and fuel-consuming crane trucks. Like any responsible company, we want to be as green as possible, and that means looking for opportunities to substitute more environmentally friendly products. Eco- Flexx certainly appears to be one such product.”
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