"Green Living"

Yet another Valu-Pack, two unwanted credit card offers and a booklet of coupons for the discount grocery store. A quick glance and it’s off to the trash for the unwelcome mail. Each year, the U.S. Postal Service delivers 17.8 tons of bulk mail, creating a heavy cost to Americans’ patience and to the environment.

JUNK FACTS

  • Weight of paper in U.S. municipal solid waste in 1980: 55 million tons
  • Weight of paper in U.S. municipal solid waste in 1999: 87.5 million tons
  • Number of trees it takes to make a ton of paper: 24
  • Weight of catalogs and other direct mailings in the U.S. municipal solid waste stream in 1999: 5.6 million tons
  • Rate at which bulk mail was recycled in 1999: 22%
  • Number of garbage trucks it would take to haul away all the unrecycled junk mail in the U.S. to landfills and incinerators each year: 340,000
  • Amount of bulk mail delivered annually by each of the U.S. Postal Service’s 293,000 letter carriers: 17.8 tons
  • Amount of time the average American spends opening bulk mail over the course of his or her life: 8 months
  • Percentage of bulk mail that is thrown away unopened: 44%

Sources: U.S. Postal Service, E Magazine, Advertising Mail Marketing Association, Direct Marketing Association, Consumer Research Institute, Conservatree, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

GET OFF THE MAILING LIST

  1. Fill out an online form from the Center for Democracy and Technology at www.NewDream.org. According to New Dream, this should limit or reduce such things as credit card offers.
  2. Urge Congress to commission a “Do Not Junk” opt-out registry modeled on the popular Do Not Call registry.
  3. Take action. Send a letter urging companies you patronize to start printing their catalogs on at least 10 percent recycled content immediately and to commit to 50 percent or 60 percent recycled content over the next five years. Be sure to tell your friends to do the same.