Road sign posts

I occasionally come across road signs (speed limit, no parking, etc) that have been hit or otherwise damaged and are laying in the woods or along the road in a heap.
What is the scrapper etiquette on scrapping either the galvanized poles or the aluminum signs themselves?

Those signs still belong to the county, I wouldn't touch them. Unless you had a receipt of purchase you could be in some trouble if the scrap yard decides to call the police. A lot of counties will auction those signs off or scrap the stuff themselves.

I would contact the city or county road/highway maintenance dept and ask.

I usually dont take speed limit and other official signs but I will take the private ones if they are in the right of way, just seperate the two pieces and then drop em in the iron bin.

Thanks for the feedback!
Good information on this site.