Five Ways to Stop Junk Mail

Direct mailings, commonly known as junk mail, waste valuable forest resources and creates unnecessary carbon emissions because it all ends up as waste whether you recycle it or toss it in the trash. Stopping the flow of junk mail is good for the environment because it reduces the timber extraction, reduces energy use during production, distribution and recycling, and reduces the amount of waste in landfills. It is easy to stop receiving direct mailings and their good reasons to do so.

• Production of junk mail = greenhouse gas emissions as 3.7 million cars [1]
• Production of junk mail = 1.5 trees / year / household [2]
• Amount received = 848 pieces of junk mail / year / household [3]
• Consumers’ cost to dispose junk mail = $370 million / year / person [4]
• Paper waster = 69 million tons / year [5]

REDUCE JUNK MAIL

Here are five easy ways to stop receiving direct mailing (A.K.A. junk mail).

1. Write the company a letter asking that your name be removed from their mailing list.
2. National Do Not Mail List @ www.directmail.com : This is the source of consumer information available to the owners of mailing lists. This source can add and remove your name and information from the mailing list. Complete the application @ www.directmail.com. If there are publication you would prefer to continue receiving, there is an option to do so. You will be contacted twice a year via email to review your preferences.
3. Stop Credit Card Offers by calling 1-800-OPT-OUTT (1-800-567-8688)
4. Stop Unwanted Catalogs by contacting Abacus, which is an alliance of publishing companies.
   Email: abacusoptout@epsilon.com
   Address: PO Box 1478, Broomfield, CO 80038
5. National Do Not Call Registry is for both landlines and cellphones. Call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want registered. There is no need to update or re-register the device. The request stays on record until you request a cancellation or when service is discontinued on the device. You can also register online @ www.donotcall.gov. Registering online requires a telephone / cellphone confirmation. [6]

PROPONENTS OF DIRECT MAILING

There is a positive side to direct mail advertising. Proponents promote it as a green way to shop, citing consumers take two less trips per year to the mall, as a result of shopping by catalog. [7] Reducing trips to the mall by two per year reduces carbon emissions by 3 billion lbs. / year, 3.3 billion less miles driven, which saves $650 million in fuel costs. [8] Proponents also point to the fact that the production of direct mail advertising is only 0.19% of consumed energy. Lastly, proponents cite that direct mail advertising helps consumers find new products, money saving deals, and exposure to local retailers and service providers.

THE TAKEAWAY

Taking actions to stop direct mail advertising is a positive step toward improving our environment. It will reduce wasted paper, greenhouse emissions, energy consumption, and landfill waste. Most importantly, you will no longer be bothered with unwanted mail!

 REFERENCES:

7, 8 Direct Mail Awareness. 2019. Learn More Direct Mail 101. Retrieved from https://dmachoice.thedma.org/static/learn_more.php

6 Federal Trade Commission. 2013. Cell Phones and The Do Not Call Registry. Retrieved from https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0133-cell-phones-and-do-not-call-registry

1, 2, 3 New York University. n.d. NYU is going green. Retrieved from http://www.law.nyu.edu/about/sustainability

4, 5 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2016. National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials