Mark Anderson begins weekly flag retirement by opening garbage bags stuffed with dozens — sometimes hundreds — of U.S. flags, widely understood to symbolize liberty, equality, justice and self-government. Anderson places them into an incinerator.
The flags may have been stored or displayed anywhere in Summit County. Porches and living rooms; flagpoles and stadiums; courthouses and gravesites. Anderson separates them by size. Then he mixes nylon flags with cotton ones — the fabric combination allows them to burn better.
Once a barrel is filled, Anderson and David Burden, both veterans and employees at the Veterans Service Commission of Summit County, fold a large, tattered flag. The flag is then met with a salute, placed on top of the pile in the barrel and honored with a moment of silence.
“You’re doing it as a symbol of one flag,” Burden said.
Why is all this going on?
When a U.S. flag is ready to retire: the respectful methods
When U.S. flags are in a condition that is no longer a fitting emblem for display, according to the U.S. Flag Code, they should be destroyed in a dignified way — preferably by burning.
“You should never throw it in the trash,” said William Schnering, a systems administrator at the Veterans Service Commission of Summit County.
Local organizations and government agencies refer residents and visitors with ready-to-retire flags to the commission, located at 1060 E. Waterloo Road in Akron. The commission does not track how many flags it retires. (Some are refurbished.)
This is what led the commission to purchase a new incinerator. The Elastec-SmartAsh, which arrived earlier this month, cost approximately $4,800.
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Why Summit County’s veterans commission uses an incinerator
Flag retirement typically takes place once a week for four hours. Volunteers from the Harry Donovan Jr. Valor Home of Summit County often sort flags ready for retirement.
Using an incinerator for the process, Burden said, is an efficient method because it’s quick and produces a cleaner and more complete burn. Burden added it’s also safer for the environment and those around the extremely hot air.
It takes about 40 minutes for an incinerator, which looks like a cylinder barrel with a lid, to reach a temperature of 1,200 degrees and turn a collection of flags into ashes. It gets so hot that the barrel used with the older incinerator has started to warp.
The synthetic material known as nylon, which creates durable flags because of its resiliency, stretchability and resistance to mold, produces toxic gases and fumes when burned.
“Our guy that’s out there actually has to wear a mask to breathe in and out because the chemicals are too harmful,” Schnering said.
Once the burn is complete and the barrel cools down, ashes are sifted through a separator to remove any remaining brass pieces; usually the grommets used to string the rope. Those pieces are set aside to be sent to local companies to be melted down and recycled.
In July, director Larry Moore proposed purchasing a second incinerator for flag retirement at a commission meeting. Now, the new incinerator will accompany the current one in the effort to retire more flags.
During the colder months, flag retirement does not take place, but flag drop off continues.