Got Mail? Here's How to Dump the Junk
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide 
on 07. 3.08
Photo by sgoralnick on flickr
The following guest post was submitted by Annabelle Gurwitch, host of WA$TED on Planet Green.
If you're like me, meaning you're a sentient being with a mail box, then I probably don't have to tell you what a horrible scourge junk mail is.
My personal favorite piece of unnecessary mail we received at our house this year is the letter my ten year old son received from Hugh Hefner inviting him to join the Playboy Club-printed on double heavy paper no less!
I've tried every manner of action to stem the flow, beginning with calling each and every catalog company to let them know I will no longer purchase from them if they continue to send me their catalogs. Has this worked? Not really. Here's the problem: They tell me my name won't be taken off the list for several months, by which time I've forgotten which companies I've called and they've switched to sending catalogs to my husband, or my name and address has already been forwarded to another company which begins sending their catalogs. I've also registered with the post office and Catalog Choice but that hasn't' worked either.
Here's something I didn't know: It seems that companies are not recognizing third-party company requests, like Catalog Choice requests. So, is this a Sisyphean task to try and Dump the Junk?
That's where you come in- we can all work together by signing the do not mail registry at the Direct Marketing Association.
Before I tell you more, here are a few facts:
How Much Mail is there?
One-third of all the mail delivered in the world is US junk mail. (100 billion pieces annually.)
Every household in the US receives, on average, one piece of personal mail each week and 18 pieces of junk mail.
Are other people concerned about this issue or am I some kooky lone crusader?
According to a recent poll, 89% of Americans support a way to opt out of unwanted mail.
I wouldn't want to stop non-profits from getting the word out, so perhaps I shouldn't sign this petition!
Non-profits right to send direct mail is protected under the first amendment, so Forest Ethics supports a code of best practices, which include reduction, increased recycled content, using FSC certification, clean production and staying out of endangered forest.
Can we win this fight?
In 2003, Congress created the national Do Not Call Registry, the most popular consumer rights bill in history. Today, we need a comparable registry to end the onslaught of junk mail.
Does junk mail really have a huge impact on the environment?
Junk mail invades our privacy and wastes an average of 8 months of our lives, and the environmental impact is even worse: 100 million trees are destroyed to make junk mail every year, which creates greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 3.7 million cars.
Here's the deal: Add your name to the 47,000 people who've already signed up. Forest Ethics is looking to reach 75,000 names and will present the registry to members of the senate.
I can't think of a more patriotic way to spend July 4th than taking a moment out of your day to sign. Got to the Do Not Mail registry. (Signing up is a carbon neutral activity!)
Annabelle Gurwitch is the host of WA$TED on Planet Green. The episode entitled "Where Theres Smoke There's Fire," in which a family is being deluged with catalogs, premieres this month on Planet Green.
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
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(In Britain) I just write "Return to Sender" on the envelope and put the junk in a post box. The companies have to pay to receive this, they take me straight off the list!
But, I can't open the mail first, so I have to be sure it's something I don't want, from a company I have nothing to do with.
I signed up to remove my name and address from the list that the credit bureaus sell to "junk mailers". This has effectively stopped almost all junk mail in my box (except those stupid election fliers). The only problem is it only lasts for 5 or so years. I am sorry to say I don't remember where I found the contact info.
I used to do the return to sender trick than realized this just wastes more fuel to once again mail something that should have never been mailed or even printed in the first place.
One simple thing people can do to stop any additional junk mail and sales calls is to not give out their contact information frivolously. Stop filling out chances to win free things. Realize that you are selling your privacy for a 'chance'. The odds are you will not win. These sweepstakes are data mining excursions not philanthropic gestures.
I compost my junk mail because I don't have access to yard waste and I need a source of "browns" for my compost bin. The US mail service gives me an unlimited supply of nitrogen for my garden!
I signed up with DMA over a year ago and I still get quite a lot of junk mail. One thing I do with anything that comes with a postage-paid return envelope is take the form and write very clearly a request that my name and address be removed from all that company's mailing lists and sign and date it. I then stuff the envelope with as much cardboard and other junk mail as I can possibly fit into the envelope, even if it means taping it closed. That will cause the company to pay a higher postal fee and will also get its attention--it works quite well, especially with credit card companies. I also search for web addresses and send email requests. I keep a list of to whom, how and when I made each request. If I am persistent, I find that these methods will eventually work. I am truly offended at the amount of advertising that I receive from my own phone company. It takes some work, but I think we can find ways to stop it, at least a large portion of it.
I hope others will share ideas that have worked for them.
Hi,
I do the 'return to sender' thing too, but if feeling especially grouchy I call up the most senior person I can find in the company, occasionally getting up as far as board level, telling them just how repulsive and wasteful junk mail is for some of us, and how they clearly failed to correctly screen their mailing lists since I'm on the MPA/FPA/TPA no-contact lists. So would they also like me to pursue a £5000 fine through the ICO for mishandling my personal data, etc, etc...
A good way to vent some spleen and save the planet and my blood pressure!
Rgds
Damon
And without all that junk-mail, then a lot of people who work at the post office would be out of a job.
I used to just call the 800 # on the catalog and asked to be removed from the mailing list. It took a while, but now I receive almost no junk mail. It helps if you don't order more from catalogs, to keep new companies from getting your info. And it helps to be patient.
I started with Catalog Choice around Christmas, without much luck. Then I switch to GreenDimes (https://www.greendimes.com/). Lifetime membership cost me $10 or so, and my mailbox has never been so empty!
Why should this third party work better than another I have no idea. But it does.
For a complete solution -- stop junk mail and unwanted catalogs -- I recommend 41pounds.org. The get you off the DMA list as well as credit card offers, sweepstakes, etc. etc. They're a nonprofit organization and they donate more than 1/3 of their fees to environmental and community organizations. These days, my mailbox is truly junk free -- even after a long summer vacation!
People should not have to request to get off lists. The lists should be illegal to sell and should be kept private = not available to the public. A person should only receive junk mail if they choose to receive it not the other way around. This whole system is backwards!
Catalog Choice works for me!
Thanks for the post.
You can also sign do not mail petition ( like Do Not Call National Petition)
I did some search online and this is the best resource so far available online ( correct me if I am wrong). I have done this 5 months ago and my mailbox is literally empty ( I have paperless billing and also opted out from various mail lists) I check my mail twice a month now. It is beautiful. ( What a freedom).
I even took the letter from samples provided and wrote it to a local Chinese restaurant that keeps putting fliers in my door. They stopped too in the whole subdivision.
Save the time for yourself.
http://awakening.weebly.com/stop-junk-mail.html
I even opted out from the yellow book. What do I need it for, since the internet is right here.
USPS Form 1500 is the best. My mailbox is virtually clean. You have to do it for every mailpiece, but not for every vendor. The Supreme Court upheld that the mail recipient can decide what is considered tasteless mail. I even prevent picture-less junk mail. Check the top box, fill in your info, initial, sign, and date and you are protected for 5 years. You have to give the vendor 30 days from receipt of the Prohibitory Order, but I'm telling you it works. If the vendor ignores the order, they get a $2,000 fine. It even works for non-profit junk. The only organizations it doesn't work for are gov't orgs. Oh, mail it back to the postal center in new york. Don't give it to your mail station, unless you want to spend half a day explaining it to them and end up with your catalogs lying around their post office. It may seem like work upfront, but it pays in the long run. Refer to Postal Bulletin 21977.