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Junk It

 

Cut the Junk and Not a Tree
Did you ever wonder how all that junk mail ends up overflowing out of your mailbox?  We each get over 40 pounds of direct mail every year.  Unsolicited advertising, catalogs, credit card offers and sweepstakes crowd our mailboxes every day.  The Post Office delivers 17.8 tons of bulk mail each year, despite the fact that 44 percent of the material goes unopened and only 2 percent of the material is responded to.  Companies print and distribute this bulk mail because it's a "less expensive" form of advertising, but who is paying the price?  Not only is it taking a toll on our patience, it's also taking a toll on our environment.  

What Makes It Green?
More than 100 million trees worth of bulk mail is delivered to Americans each year.  In addition to the "cost" in trees, production of direct mail uses a great deal of energy and water.  Producing 10 tons of junk mail (roughly 1 pallet of paper) requires enough energy to run 4 homes for a year.  Carbon emissions produced from the papermaking facilities are also a concern.  You get the same emissions running 6 cars constantly for a year as you do producing 10 tons of direct mail.  

Unfortunately less than 36% of the junk mail sent out is recycled.  The other 64% of the "junk" winds up clogging up landfalls.

What You Can Do
  • Choose "Please do not sell my name and address" whenever you sign up for something, subscribe to a magazine, apply for a credit card, donate money, or enter a contest.
  • Register for the Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) Mail Preference Service. For just $1, you can opt out of receiving unsolicited commercial mail from many national companies for 5 years. To register visit www.dmachoice.org.
  • Call the toll-free number set up by the credit bureaus that enables you to opt out of having pre-approved credit offers sent to you for 5 years. Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (567-8688) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com for more information.
  • Opt out of the catalogs that are being sent to you by listing the ones you don't want on www.catalogchoice.org.
  • When you move, don't fill out the USPS permanent change of address (COA) form, which is shared with third parties. Instead indicate that you are temporarily changing your address, which will allow you to have your mail forwarded for up to 10 months and isn't shared with anyone.
  • Be sure to recycle any junk mail you do receive.
didyouknow
In 2005, 5.8 million tons of catalogs and other direct mailings ended up in the U.S. solid waste stream - enough to fill over 450,000 garbage trucks. Parked bumper to bumper these garbage trucks would extend from Atlanta to Albuquerque.

handson
I registered on www.cataglogchoice.org and cut the number of catalogs I received drastically.  Some stores had been sending me a new book every few weeks.  Once I put them on the list, I didn't get them again.
 
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