Junk Mail is Such a Waste

Do you ever cringe when you open your mailbox? Are you bombarded with an avalanche of junk mail? This is the type of mail that you want to file in file 13 (the trash). Everyone gets his or her share of this type of mail. Imagine how many trees are cut down to make the paper for all these mailings. Trees produce oxygen and cutting them down affects our environment. Thirty-two pounds of junk mail made out of paper and plastic is thrown into the trash by each woman, man, and child in the United States each year. Only twenty two percent gets recycled out of 1.23 million tons. Out of 5.56 million tons of junk mail that is received, 4.33 million tons will end up in the trash.

One way of decreasing the amount of junk mail that you receive is to sign up at the Direct Marketing Association for their “Mail Preference Service”. This marketing association helps you to opt out of getting unwanted junk mail. This is a simple process. The only cost to you is a dollar. Pay online with a credit card or send in a check or money order with their online form that you can print. You can sign up online and your sign up will last for 5 years. Check out what they offer and sign up at their website, www.dmachoice.org/consumerassistance.html, for more information.

How many credit card applications does one person need? Credit card mailings t total almost three billion are sent out every year to consumers. Credit bureaus such as Equifax and Experian are helping consumers take their name off lists for credit card mailings. You can choose to stay off a credit cards mailing list for two years or you can opt to never receive mail from credit card companies again. You can reverse opting out at any time, though. You can opt out online at www.optoutprescreen.com.

The Ecology Center, who is endorsed not only by the National Wildlife Federation, but also by the Natural Resources Defense Council, has developed a free service called “Catalog Choice”. This service helps you to choose what catalogs you would like to receive and which catalogs you don’t want in your mailbox. You can register online with this service. They contact the catalogs for you to get your name off of their mailing list.

You will find that some companies don’t use these mail preference services to get your name off of their mailing list. You may have to do the opting out yourself. Contact the company that keeps sending you unwanted mailers. Ask them to remove your name and address from their marketing database and ask them not to give or sell your information to other solicitors. Be patient because it does take time for your information to be removed.

Privacy and wanting to help the environment is your given right. Sometimes it just takes persistence to stop the mailing madness! Environmentally concerned consumers can make a difference!