Does Lamar's Recycling Effort Square With Its Digital Billboard Push?

(MoneyWatch)  Lamar Advertising, the giant billboard provider, promised more than a year ago to convert to "100-percent recyclable materials for outdoor advertising," a laudable goal. The effort was intended to "further enhance environmental sustainability."

But does this square with Lamar's recent push into digital billboards? All over the country, Lamar is trying to convert its sites from regular paper billboards into ones consisting of digital LEDs. They can utilize moving or flashing images, and can change ads easily.

On its face, it sounds more sustainable because less paper will be used. Digital billboards require substantially more electricity to power them than old paper boards, which only need light bulbs:

An electronic or digital billboard can use 387,485 kWh/year. This is equivalent to the use of 49 conventionally lighted billboards.

Perhaps Lamar could commit to powering its new digital boards with solar-powered batteries and panels. BNET awaits the press release.

• Related:
• Digital Billboards' Achilles Heel Is Not Driver Distraction, It's Energy Use