Aggie Mlynzarz says environmental concerns the main reason she will not be placing signs around the city in her bid to unseat Cam Guthrie

The person challenging mayor Cam Guthrie in the upcoming municipal election will not be using lawn signs as part of her campaign.

Aggie Mlynarz says she will not be participating in what she calls "sign wars" during the election.

"After much consideration, I have decided not to participate in the sign wars," Mlynarz said in a press release Friday.

"While visibility is important to democracy, with the amount of waste that is being produced in the 21st century it is becoming more difficult to justify investing in single-use plastic signs for a few weeks."

Mlynarz said the traditional plastic signs used in elections cannot be recycled locally.

"There should be an inherent responsibility where we recognize that even if we put something in the recycling bin it still has a long way to go before it is broken down and reused again," she said.

Mlynarz added that because she ran in the recent provincial election for the NDP party, she doesn't feel compelled to get her name "out there" in the same manner a first time candidate might normally feel compelled to do.

"Coming off of a very recent provincial campaign I am not faced with the same challenge of having to put my name out there for the very first time. In addition, recent studies have concluded that signs only provide a little over one percentage-point boost to the candidate – especially as we migrate more and more into digital mediums for campaigning."

She applauded candidates who are re-using signs from previous elections.

"However, the mayoral race requires a city-wide sign strategy and, as I experienced only a few months ago, between vandalism and windy days these signs were often destroyed or ended up in bins everywhere. They get lost, and can be costly or problematic to store.

She said the new sign bylaw implemented by the city shows that there is local frustration with the amount of "pollution and chaos" created by signs during election time.

"Perhaps it's time to stop, listen to what the people of Guelph want, and take a chance at doing things differently. I want to try this. I want to find ways to reduce waste and engage folks in the democratic process."

Mlynarz said she will be offering posters at her 30 Carden St. campaign office for those that want them that are printed on 100 per cent recyclable material.