Several GE2025 candidates giving their campaign leftovers a second life

With the 2025 General Election now over, several political parties and candidates say they are reducing wastage of their campaign materials by reusing, recycling and even selling some of them.

- Ang Qing

Those who are selling their physical advertising materials like posters told The Straits Times that they are doing so to raise funds to cover the cost of the campaign, or to donate to charity.

On May 28, the Elections Department (ELD) released preliminary data showing that the average election spending per candidate worked out to be $25,285.

The records showed that the five members of the PAP's Marine Parade-Braddell Heights team, which enjoyed Singapore's first walkover since 2011, were the top spenders among 35 candidates who have declared their expenses so far.

Non-online election advertising was the slate's largest expense, accounting for about 60 per cent of $388,756 spent by the candidates.

Physical advertising materials like posters and flags, which are grouped under non-online election advertising in ELD data, traditionally make up the biggest costs incurred during the election season.

However, there are no official figures for how much of the materials wind up in the landfill once these campaigns end.

A PAP spokeswoman told ST that the party sorted its election paraphernalia into recyclable and non-recyclable materials, and disposed of them properly.

She said: "Our campaigning materials are not for sale or auction."

Some items like corrugated parts may be repurposed by printers for other uses, such as cardboard standees, she added.

The spokeswoman said the party also reuses some materials produced before the 2025 General Election, like banners with PAP logos.

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) said they recycle some of their campaign materials.