One hundred fifty million American flags are sold every year in the United States, as people around the country proudly put their patriotism on display through home and landscape decor. While buying flags may be a common practice, properly retiring and recycling them is a mystery to many Americans. So, when Kevin Roberts, a Lowe's sales associate in Mooresville, Indiana, noticed his own flag collection was outgrowing its garage space, he decided to build a solution for the entire community.
With a passion for woodworking, Kevin partnered with the American Legion to create flag repository boxes for people to drop off their well-worn flags and proudly displayed it near the customer service desk. Within weeks of setting the boxes out, they filled to the brim and were ready to be properly retired.
The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem of display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.
Typically, American Legions, VFWs and the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts collect flags and hold flag retirement ceremonies which include cutting out the blue square of stars and individually cutting the red and white stripes, and a 21-gun salute. Not all flags must be retired this way; anyone can retire a flag if proper etiquette is used.
WAYS TO PROPERLY RETIRE A FLAG
1. Properly fold the flag and place into a fire, say pledge of allegiance or hold a moment of silence*
2. For synthetic material, bury the folded flag in a dignified box
3. Recycle in a flag repository box
A firefighter for 20 years before he started working for Lowe's, the flag holds special meaning, a sentiment he says he shares with military members.
I want all the branches to know that Lowes loves them, and we support them 100%, and we're on all of this with helping however we can, and they're not forgotten.
Kevin hopes more repository boxes will pop up across the country; don't ask him for blueprints - because this labor of love came straight from the heart - and he didn't write them down.