Anyone else think their time could be better spent than sorting, shredding, or recycling all that junk mail? I have done the things listed below to get off mailing and the results are amazing. We get a lot less junk mail every week. We still get some, mostly stuff addressed to resident and local advertisements that are put in all the boxes. I still get a few credit card offers, but only from organizations I already do business with, I hardly have to use the shredder anymore. I even learned you can contact your credit card provider and stop getting those convenience checks. Unfortunately with catalogs that you have previously ordered from you have to call the companies to get off their lists, but they will oblige with no questions asked, but it will take a couple of mailing to get you off because they are printed in advance.
FACTS ON JUNK MAIL
• The average person gets only 1.5 personal letters each week, compared to 10.8 pieces of junk mail.
• Each person will receive almost 560 pieces of junk mail this year.
• That’s 4.5 million tons of junk mail produced each year!
• 44% of all junk mail is thrown in the trash, unopened and unread.
• Approximately 40% of the solid mass that makes up our landfills is paper and paperboard waste.
• By the year 2010, it is predicted to make up about 48%.
• 100 million trees are ground up each year to produce junk mail.
• Lists of names and addresses used in bulk mailings are in mass data-collection networks, compiled from phone books, warranty cards, and charity donations (to name a few).
• Your name is typically worth 3 to 20 cents each time it is sold.
The Benefits of Stopping Junk Mail (from Ideal Bite)
• Saves energy. Junk mail consumes more energy than 2.8 million cars every year.
• More trees. Annually, 100 million trees are used to make junk mail.
• More free time. Americans waste about 8 hours per year dealing with junk mail.
Change your preferences with the DMA: https://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailing
Sick of all those credit card offers that you have to shred (less offers = less chance of a thief getting a hold of it and racking up some charges in your name): Opt-Out
Someone that will do the work for you with the DMA plus plant some trees (for the people that need to be notified in writing, they send you postcards that just need your signature and dropped in the mail): Green Dimes Update 8/7/07: Greendimes just dropped the fee from $36/year to a one time fee of $15!