Some of the signs that went up during the Oct. 24 provincial election in 91原创 have found a new life as planter boxes, thanks to a former 91原创 council candidate who can鈥檛 stand waste.
Gary Hee has recycled 4,500 square feet of election signs donated by MLA Mary Polak, transforming them into sturdy planter boxes with one-inch thick walls, to be given away free to anyone who can use them.
He has enough material to make 24.
As of Sunday, Nov. 15, all but 鈥渇ive or six鈥� had been spoken for, Hee told the 91原创 Advance Times.
One recipient was a 91原创 daycare, which already has a set of Hee-built planters from a previous election, that are used to help educate children about planting.
鈥淚t鈥檚 educational,鈥� Hee enthused.
鈥淭hey can see how vegetables grow.鈥�
The daycare took five this time.
Hee said production is easier this year because Polak had the signs cut up into two-foot squares before he picked them up..
He builds the sturdy two-foot-square boxes by layering several signs together with screws and duct tape, keeping them blank side out.
Hee, 76, started looking for ways to re-use campaign signs to keep them from ending in landfills after an unsuccessful run for 91原创 Township council.
READ MORE: Proposal to use recycled campaign signs for homeless shelters attracts interest
He鈥檚 also experimented with building a variety of 鈥減rototypes鈥� including sleeping mats and emergency shelters for homeless people, dividers for students and a six-foot tall tool shed.
He鈥檚 hoping he can convince candidates in the next municipal election in 91原创 to donate their signs, but he hasn鈥檛 had a lot of luck getting commitments this early on.
鈥淚 think they鈥檙e pretty busy,鈥� Hee commented.
Hee鈥檚 idea came to the attention of National Public Radio (NPR) in the United States in 2018, when he was contacted by a producer for NPR鈥檚 鈥淲ait, Wait鈥on鈥檛 Tell Me!鈥� a show devoted to off-beat news stories.
A business owner who lives near the Surrey-91原创 border on the Cloverdale side, Hee got involved in 91原创 politics when he began campaigning for improvements to the stretch of road that crosses the 91原创-Surrey border following a number of serious accidents in the area of 72 Avenue and 198B Street.
He鈥檚 also campaigned for free parking at 91原创 Memorial Hospital, a petition drive that succeeded, in manner of speaking, when the province announced fees would be suspended during the pandemic.
READ MORE: Free hospital parking announcement didn鈥檛 go far enough, critic says
Anyone interested in the remaining planters, especially those interested in helping put them together, can contact Hee by email at gary.hee@gmail.com.
dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
