Every year, Americans receive 19 million paper catalogs in the mail. The production of those millions of catalogs has an impact on global warming equal to the pollution generated by the annual emissions of two million cars. This is not to mention the many other kinds of mass mailings we all receive each day, from sale flyers to credit card offers. In fact, bulk mail is responsible for creating more than 5 million tons of waste every year.Clearly, junk mail is not something we can afford to ignore. Obviously you’ll want to reuse and recycle all those flyers, newsletters, envelopes, menus, postcards, brochures and insurance offers. But the real goal is to receive less in the first place. Here are 10 easy ways to do it.
1. Stop the Catalogs:
There are a couple of successful strategies for reducing the number of unwanted mail order catalogs you receive.
Each time you receive a catalog, call the company's 800 number and request they remove you from their mailing list before you put it aside for recycling.
Alternately, join Catalog Choice. This free service allows you to choose the companies you no longer want to receive catalogs from and communicates your desires to those companies on your behalf. Any time you receive a new catalog you’d rather not get you can log back on and update your preferences to reflect the change.
2. Register with the Direct Marketing Association:
To get off many national direct mailling lists you will want to register with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). You can sign up for free online (DMA Online) or pay $1 to sign up by mail.
The DMA provides this "do not mail" list to its members, who are required to update their mailing lists quarterly, and to others who choose to buy the association’s lists.
3. Eliminate credit offers:
Stop “firm offers” of credit through the Opt-Out Prescreen service. This service allows you to opt out by phone (888-567-8688) or online (Opt-Out Prescreen Website) with the main culprits: the three major credit bureaus and a service called Innovis, which provides credit information to the real estate industry.
4. State your preferences:
Tell the companies you buy goods and services from not to share your information. They are legally required under a 2000 federal law to respect your wishes, but generally only volunteer this information in very fine print. The burden is on you to communicate this desire in writing. By taking this simple step you can prevent companies you support from sharing or selling your information to other companies.
Just about any company will sell or share your information, so you will want to write each and every company you do business with. Looking over your list of monthly bills will give you a good start on a list of companies to contact. The Center for a New American Dream makes it easy for you to write credit card companies and banks by providing form letters addressed to each company at this link: New American Dream Junk Mail Form Letter. This other form letter is a great guide for making your message clear when you write other companies: EcoFuture Junk Mail Form Letter.
Don’t forget to tell charities you support that you prefer they not sell or share your information. If you’ve ever donated to a charity or nonprofit, you may have noticed a subsequent influx of junk mail from similar organizations. This is because the charity that received your donation shared or sold your contact information.
5. Support anti-junk mail legislation:
Anti-junk mail advocates are pushing for legislation on the federal and state level to make it easier to opt out of receiving junk mail.
Lawmakers in 14 states introduced legislation limiting junk mail in 2007. It ordinarily takes a few years of repeatedly introducing such bills to garner sufficient support for them to pass. Therefore, it is important that you write your state legislative representatives to voice your support for these proposals. If you live in a state where no legislation has been introduced, write your state legislators and encourage them to introduce a bill to combat junk mail in your state.
Contact your state legislators about this issue through the Center for a New American Dream's website. You simply fill in your name and address and they send your representatives information about this problem and how to fix it. Visit this link to participate: State Junk Mail Campaign.
New American Dream also encourages you to contact Congress to support efforts to make it easier to opt out. Visit this link to send your Congress people a message: Congress Junk Mail Campaign.
6. Avoid giving out your information:
Think twice about throwing your address out there on a contest entry form. free product giveaway or online user account registration. Every time you provide your real address, you're risking having it sold to companies that will inundate you with junk mail.
7. Reconsider filling out product registration cards:
Contrary to popular belief, you are usually not voiding your warranty on a product by choosing not to return the enclosed registration card. Just keep in mind that companies use these lists to contact consumers about product recalls, which may be of special interest if you have children. This fact may make it worth it for you to risk having your information sold and shared, but only you can make that decision.
8. Think twice about filling out the USPS change of address form:
Filling out the United States Postal Service change of address form helps unwanted junk mail and catalogs follow you to your new address. Instead, individually contact each company and person who needs to know your new address.
9. Remove your name from sweepstakes lists:
Sweepstakes offers likely aren't responsible for much of your junk mail, but it's easy to eliminate this category of junk mail completely by directly contacting the companies who target you and requesting to be removed from their list.
10. Hire a service:
If you would prefer to pay someone else to do the legwork for you, consider one of these services: Green Dimes (www.greendimes.com), 41 Pounds (41pounds.org), Private Citizen (private-citizen.com) or Stop the Junk Mail Kit (www.stopjunk.com).
Sources:
Junk Mail Waste Prevention
Catalog Choice
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: Junk Mail
State Junk Mail Legislation
Technorati Tags: policy, junk mail, waste, policy, ecology, environment
Content by Diana E. Lee.
