8.22.06
Although I live in a community whose recycling program accepts 99% of the junk mail I receive, it still amazes me just how much waste I get in the mail each day. Recently, many companies have given consumers the option to receive “paperless” bills via email or web, which is a great step in the right direction. I recently discovered (via Body & Soul magazine) a few sites that can help reduce the amount of junk mail you receive: The Direct Marketing Association, The Consumers Credit Reporting Industry, and Native Forest.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006 at 11:27 am.
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This came just in time Ann! I just recycled two full paper bags of crap…mostly credit card solicitations and home refinancing offers. I am putting this on my list of things to do!
August 22nd, 2006 at 11:37 ammore info a la emagazine.com:
How can I reduce the amount of junk mail that I receive?
–Jennifer Pearle, Brattleboro, VT
About 675 pieces of junk mail clog each of our mailboxes annually–that adds up to a nationwide total of four million tons a year. Reducing the volume of bulk mail you receive saves trees, energy, landfill space and water–not to mention your time.
So how do you erode the mountain of junk mail that fills your mailbox? Registering with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA)’s Mail Preference Service can help, but it won’t stop the paper deluge completely. DMA passes along your name to marketers, who then remove it from their mailing lists for five years–if they want to. Steve Kehrli of Names in the News, a marketing firm that handles mass mailings for nonprofit organizations, says that, unfortunately, some companies “aren’t playing the game the right way”–they simply don’t comply with take-me-off-the-list requests (although most do).
Companies which do not receive DMA Mail Preference Service notices will also continue to send you mail. Stop the paper flow from a specific company by requesting that your name be placed on the company’s “in-house suppress file.” Since many companies rent their mailing lists to other firms, be sure to have your name taken off their rent lists as well. But don’t try marking junk mail “return to sender”: the post office will simply trash it.
CONTACTS
Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008
Tel: (212) 768-7277
http://www.the-dma.org/
Consumer Opt-Out
August 22nd, 2006 at 9:05 pmTRW Inc.
PO Box 919, Allen, TX 75002
Tel: (800) 353-0809
Thank you!!! I completed the opt-out online and it only took maybe one minute. I think I may try to attempt some of the other links soon. I too just filled a whole bag worth of recycling from credit card offerings. I wonder???? which list phone lines and utilities companies give your info to because I just moved and feell fed up–I use a post office box and still the junk arrives.
August 22nd, 2006 at 9:07 pmEcocycle has a nice comprehensive set of instructions for removing yourself from these mailing lists, as well as other solicitation methods.
August 30th, 2006 at 1:28 pmhttp://www.ecocycle.org