Junk Mail and the Environmentby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 17 Jul 2009 08:51 AM
The best thing to do with junk mail is to take your name off of the lists. Junk mail tends to propagate quickly. First you are on one list and then another and another until you are practically drowning. Most days, 75 percent of what I take out of the mailbox goes straight into the recycling bin. There are a few different services that will help you get your name and address off of the prospective junk mail lists. Some of these services require a small fee (from $1 to $20), while others are free. Some services you can try include: http://www.the-dma.org/index.php, http://www.myjunktree.com, http://ProQuo.com and http://41pounds.org. In some cases, it may take up to 90 days for the junk mail to stop, so you will have to be a bit patient. I also wanted to give a special mention of holiday catalogues because they are a huge issue when it comes to our resources. It seems as though the catalogues get bigger and bigger every year, and we can be flooded with several versions of catalogues per brand as the holiday season draws near. In fact, there has been some news about how holiday catalogues can threaten vital forest. The best thing that you can do here is to contact the companies directly and tell them that you no longer want to receive a catalogue. I have found that the easiest way to do this is to call customer service departments. You can read more blog posts by Mary Ann Romans here! Related Articles: How a Piece of Paper Can Save You Thousands of Dollars Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantgreen living tags User Comments Tashi (1013) 21 Jul 2009 01:27 PMAgree 100% -- contact the companies directly. While I submitted my name and address long ago to be taken off of junk mail lists (it was free, and unfortunately, I can't remember where I wrote), I still occasionally get something, especially from magazines. When a publication insists on sending me numerous offers for subscriptions (I'll refrain from naming one in particular. I sure would love to divulge their name.), I take everything, and I mean eberything that they sent me, including the envelope, and send it right back to them. Many times, there is a "No postage required -- will be paid by addressee" envelope, so I don't even need to use postage of my own. I usually write a short, but firm AND polite note, stating I'm not interested, and to please take me off of their lists. It usually works. But sometimes, a few efforts are necessary. I'm guessing that on occasion, my other responses just haven't been opened or processed. Discuss this article
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Think junk mail is nothing more than an annoyance? It might surprise you to know that 100 million trees are used in just one year to produce junk mail. Here is what you can do to reduce that impact.
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