Coroplast was one material of choice for O’Rourke; it’s a lightweight corrugated plastic widely accepted for recycling. A 2-foot-wide Beto yard sign, complete with ground stakes, was selling for $10 on the campaign’s online store until right before the election.

Another common sign material is poly-coated paper — think along the lines of a milk carton — which can pose a recycling challenge.

And what about the vinyl add-ons they’re selling in Austin? Sticking something like that on a campaign sign wouldn’t pass muster with facilities there, according to a fact sheet distributed by the city government — all the more reason for supporters to hope they’ll be reusing instead of recycling.

Holding on to signs for multiple election cycles isn’t a new idea. “If a candidate is somebody who wants to run again, we’ll store them. If they’re not interested in running again, then they get tossed,” said Pat Burns, who chairs a chapter of the Texas Democratic Party about an hour outside of Houston.