Have you ever wondered what happens to all those vinyl banners that stretch across city streets and hang on the sides of streetlights once the message on them is no longer relevant? Brooke Beare did.

The answer: if they aren't reused, they usually just go in the garbage. And, because they're built to withstand the elements — even the desert's extreme heat and winds — they're unlikely to break down anytime soon in landfills. 

So, with the city's 90th anniversary banner from 2020 piled up in her office, Beare, the city's communications and marketing director, did some Googling. 

"It seemed like a waste to throw away the old banners," Beare said.

She located a company in Denver, Colorado, Mile High Workshop, that could turn the banners into bags: small, medium, large and all-purpose tote bags, duffel bags, messenger bags, Dopp (or, toiletry) bags, and zipper pouches. The banners were the perfect material to make these items, Beare decided. 

"There's not a lot of companies who advertise themselves as doing this," Beare said. 

She teamed up with Sara Toyoda, the city's environmental programs coordinator, and the two got going on their bag order. Gap Signs in Indio, which makes the banners, cleaned off the dust and bird droppings, and then sent them off to Colorado. 

Mile High Workshop was able to make 62 bags out of 60 used banners. 

"I think bags are one of the better things to make out of them because they're made to be out in the environment and to last," Toyoda said. "It's exactly the same reason we don't want them in a landfill." 

Indio regularly rotates through its street pole banners. 

"Historically, they do get tossed," Beare said. 

Now that the city knows there is a way to reuse the banners, it will impact its future decisions, Toyoda added. 

At the same time that Beare and Toyoda were working on their bag project, the seamstresses at the Indio Senior Center were making smocks for their peers to use at mealtime. Indio Senior Center's Program Administrator Argelia Jimenez saw the vinyl banner material in Beare's office and thought it would be great for the smock project. 

"The members are always looking for projects, and the sewing group is always looking for new material," Jimenez said. 

Beare had already planned to ask Jimenez if the Friends of the Indio Senior Center wanted to sell the bags as a fundraising effort.

All the pieces were coming together. And, when the ladies at the center saw the Mile High bags, they decided they would take a shot at making their own version. 

Using funds allocated for waste diversion, Toyoda supplied the senior center with three industrial sewing machines tough enough to handle the thick material. 

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"Managing waste is one of the most effective ways to support cleaner air and lower greenhouse gas emissions," Toyoda said. "This project is especially good for that because now everything is processed locally through the senior center, so there are very few greenhouse gases associated with transporting the banners."

The machines cost about $1,200, but was worth the investment for long-term waste diversion, according to Toyoda. 

About 50 banners were given to the senior center and another 50 are in the queue for when the group is ready for more. 

The ladies are experimenting with different styles and sizes from reusable grocery bags to wine bags and large totes for the beach. 

"It's fun — you're being creative and, then, the companionship of all of us in there ... we don't really realize we're doing anything because we're just kidding around and talking," said Eugenie Balentine, a volunteer instructor and member of Friends of the Indio Senior Center. 

Balentine teaches sewing, acrylic, oil painting, and stained glass classes at the center. 

The sewing group makes different things from materials that are donated and sells them to members at low prices. The bags, for example, were sold for $10 each. 

"We want to make things that will last," Balentine said. "We want to make things that are cost effective for the people because this is a distressed area."

The bags also help build pride in the community as more and more residents walk around with the word "Indio" along their sides, according to Beare.

"It is attractive — they are pretty colors," Balentine added. 

The Indio Senior Center and its members try to be mindful about recycling and repurposing things, Jimenez said. Residents donate all sorts of stuff, including scrapbooking and knitting material, and then members turn it into "beautiful pieces of art," she added.

The city has measurable goals for reusing and eliminating waste. By law, cities are required to divert a certain amount of waste away from landfills and, according to Toyoda, Indio has been in compliance a long time. 

"Even without the regulations, the city should be responsible to reduce as much of the waste as possible," she said. 

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Going forward, the city is trying to think through the life cycle of anything it creates, Toyoda said. This includes the swag it gives out at events. They try to provide things that people will actually use, she added, such as steel water bottles and bamboo utensil sets. 

"We can’t keep sending things to landfills, filling them up and then making more landfills. It’s just not sustainable," Toyoda said. "More and more, we have to start to consider what is going to happen with any item at end-of-life."

Interested in learning more about sustainability in Indio?

The city's next event is 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 19, at the Indio Water Authority/Corporate Yard, 83-101 Avenue 45. They will be collecting old tires, used oil and filters, and e-waste in addition to paper shredding and a compost exchange.

Maria Sestito covers issues of aging in the Coachella Valley. She is also a Report for America corps member. Follow her on Twitter @RiaSestito, on Instagram @RiaSestito_Reporter or email her at maria.sestito@desertsun.com.