The Problem with Roller Banners (and What We're Doing About It)

All too often, we think sustainability is about the start of a product’s life - what it is made from, where it has come from.  The reality though, is that often the most impact a physical product can have is in its disposal. The humble roller banner is one of those products that has frustrated us for a while. A pull-up banner is regularly used for only a short period of time, before it’s often then disposed. The mechanism is fiddly, so while not impossible, it is expensive to re-graphic a banner by the time it has been opened up, and couriered back and forth. 

So what are the alternative solutions?

• Eco paper banner
  There is a banner on the market made entirely of paper and cardboard - but it’s really not great. There isn’t enough tension to hold the banner in place, the paper graphic can get damaged, and the cardboard mechanism isn’t quite sturdy enough for more than a couple of uses. It’s also really expensive.
   
• Easel and board
  The most popular option we’d recommend as an alternative for a short term event is an easel and board. Traditionally, we’d have produced a foamex board, but now we’ll opt for cardboard more often than not. We’ve almost reached price parity, and they are far more easily recycled. The main issues with this approach are that easels are bulky and difficult to transport, and particularly if you go for the cardboard sign, it can get dog-eared if not stored properly.

So, frustratingly, despite the alternatives, the traditional roller banner approach is still the one most people are likely to opt for - convenience and value generally win out. For this reason, we decided to see what we could do to reduce the impact of a banner after it has been used - and launched a banner recycling programme. We strip out the graphic, which then goes to be recycled, so we’re left with just the aluminium frame, and then that goes to our local metal recyclers. At the moment, we can only offer this service for banners we’ve supplied - all you need to do is get the banner(s) back to us, and we’ll do the rest.