Day 275 – It never seems to stop. Day after day, filling our mailboxes or stuffed in our mail slots. I think we can all agree that junk mail is pretty annoying. However, it’s also not good for the planet. More than 4 million tons of junk mail are produced annually, and over 50 percent of it ends up in landfills. Junk mail kills roughly 2.6 million trees every year, and every U.S. household gets an average of 6 pieces of unsolicited mail every day.
Is there any way to reduce the delivery of junk mail?
Here are a couple options:
- OptOutPreScreen is the official Consumer Credit Reporting Industry website to accept and process requests from consumers to Opt-In or Opt-Out of firm offers of credit or insurance.
- DMAChoice is a tool developed by the Direct Marketing Association that can tailor what hits your mailbox, so that you can get the things you want, and stop getting the things you don’t.
So, during this Junk Mail Awareness Week (the first week of October) try to reduce your junk mail and in turn help the planet. And always remember to recycle the junk mail that does get through.
Tomorrow, the list of extinct species grows longer.
365 Ways to Save the Planet 