Do you know that if you cut back bulk mail for 5 years, youll conserve 1.7 trees, 700 gallons of water and prevent 460 lbs of carbon dioxide from being released into the air? Would you like to have an uncluttered mail box that contains only letters and packages that you may actually want to open and look at? Each year each adult in a household gets 41 pounds of junk mail a year. That is quite a pile. Aside from the environmental concerns, your personal security is also at risk. The Better Business Bureau recommends that you shred all credit card information as well as insurance offers. Most cities also have to pay for waste disposal by the pound and bulk mail is the primary content of most garbage and dont forget about the time you spend dealing with unwanted mail solicitations. That usually account for 8 hours each year going through the mail and dealing with it.
Everyone is looking for solutions
The mass amount of junk mail people receive each day (usually 5-10 pieces per day) has everyone looking for a solution. There are some things you can do to help relieve this pile of unwanted mail. Listed are some things you personally can do to reduce and recycle junk mail:
1. Call mail-order catalog companies: Most catalogs have a toll-free number for placing an order. Call this number and ask to be taken off their mailing list.
2. Contact specific organizations or businesses. If you receive unwanted flyers or mail, call the customer service department and request that your name be removed from their mailing list. Alternatively, send in a signed and dated written request. Include a sample of the mailing label so the sender can identify how you're listed in their database.
3. Return junk mail: Envelopes stamped 'address correction requested' or 'return postage guaranteed' can be returned unopened to the sender by writing 'refused, return to sender' on the envelope. DO NOT write this on mail without that special notation; the post office will not return it to the sender.
4. Remove your name from national mailing lists. Many businesses and organizations subscribe to the Direct Marketing Association to advertise through direct mail. Remove your name from their mailing list for up to five (5) years by any of the following methods:
a) Remove your name on-line through Direct Marketing Association
b) Fill out a postcard and mail to the Direct Marketing Association. This postcard is an Adobe PDF file, two postcards per page, double-sided. If your printer doesn't print double-sided, or you don't have the Adobe Reader, please contact their office at (253)798-2179 or e-mail them to request a post card (Pierce County residents only in the state of Washington). If you can print the post card anyone can use it anywhere in the United States
c) Write to Mail Preference Service at:
Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512
5. Contact credit bureaus: They may sell names and addresses to banks and credit card companies.
The three largest credit bureaus are:
Equifax
PO Box 740123
Atlanta, GA 30374-0123
1-800-755-3502
Target Marketing Services
Consumer Opt. Out601
TRW Parkway
Allen, TX 75002
1-800-353-0809
Trans Union, Transmark
List Division
555 West Adams Street
Chicago, IL 60661
1-800-680-7293
6. Avoid warranty cards: Warranty cards are a means of gathering names for mailing lists and to inform customers about product recalls. When you purchase a product, you may be covered by the manufacturer's warranty even if you do not send in the warranty card. Check with the manufacturer to find out whether or not you're covered, and keep the receipt as proof of purchase.(See below for further information)
7. Do NOT contact your post office about junk mail. They are required to deliver all mail to your house.
8. Finally, please recycle any junk mail you do continue to receive. For security, it's recommended that credit card offers and similar junk mail be shredded.
Beware Those Warranty Cards
When you get products that come with warranty cards, do you really have to send them in or do manufacturers just want you to think you do?
The only benefit to you is that warranty cards give manufacturers a way to tell you about recalls or safety alerts. The real benefit is to marketers who can buy and sell your profile, which gets you on more mailing lists in hopes of making a sale.
In most cases, all you really need to protect your purchase is the receipt. For companies that require the registration card for a limited warranty, you don't have to give them anything more than your name and address and the model number of the product.
Read the fine print at the bottom of the warranty card. That's where most companies tell you they're sharing your information.
Credit Card Companies
Always be aware of all of the junk mail received from Credit Card Companies. Shred these documents as these are a prime target for people trying to use your information for identity theft.
One consumer tracked the amount of credit card solicitations they received in a three month period and received the following:
Company/Pieces of mail
Capital One/60
Disney/7
AAA/9
Delta Skymiles/16
AAdvantage Mastercard/28
Worldpoints/7
Bank of America/9
Discover/19
Chase/23
HSBC/11
American Express/14
Horace Mass/8
Various Isolated/17
This made a total of 228! This consumer shredded them and it took three garbage bags to dispose of them.
How much effort goes into these mailings?
One thing you may admire is their ingenuity and creativity in tempting you to open these envelopes. But obviously, there is a cost involved, not just in paper, printing and mailing, but also in waste. According to Ohio Department of Natural Resources, junk mail creates four million tons of preventable waste each year, fills three percent of America's landfills, costing taxpayers $320 million in disposal fees annually, destroys 62 million trees a year, and creates 28 billion gallons of waste water per year. These statistics are for all junk mail.
ADVO, the largest mass mailing company spends $500 million a year in postage. According to the Direct Advertising Mailing Services, marketers spent in 2002 $49.1 billion on direct mail, with credit card companies sending $4 billion pieces of mail.
Resources to help you get rid of junk mail
Privacy Rights Clearing House
Federal Trade Commission Consumer Alert
OptOutPresreen.com
Do-it-yourself: Stop junk mail, email and phone calls
junkmailstopper.com
New Organization Helps You Clear Out the Junk Mail
Although this organization does charge a fee it may be your answer to getting rid of that junk mail. It is called 41pounds.org and its goal is to get rid of 41 pounds of junk mail for you. When you subscribe for just $41, they promise to eliminate 80-95% of unsolicited mailings coming to your door for the next 5 years. There's work involved, but not a lot, and they'll help you every step of the way. Like a weight loss program, they say you'll see a noticeable drop off within two months, and after 4 months, your bulk mail should be reduced by 80-95%.
The service can also be used as an educational fundraising tool for schools, clubs and religious organizations.
About 41pounds.org fundraising program
A subscription to 41pounds.org is easy to sell, provides awareness to important environmental and personal security issues, and is adaptable to all groups. The cost for a household's subscription is $41.00 and half of the profits from each subscription go to your organization's fundraising goals!
Some of the reasons that schools, clubs, churches, etc. will benefit from this fundraiser as opposed to traditional methods:
You do not have to distribute product.
There are no geographic limitations to this service.
Subscribers can sign up on-line by going to www.41pounds.org so the kids/members do not have to handle money.
Everyone involved will learn about the environmental implications of junk mail and what just one person can do to help the environment.
They are more practical than traditional fundraisers like pizza kits, wrapping paper, coupon books, etc...
41Pounds.org is a good cause helping another good cause.
The participants are given brochures and pledge cards as well as an email form letter to assist in their selling.
There are absolutely no upfront costs.
They will set up appropriate incentive programs to help you keep your teammates and participants enthused to reach their goals.
They will provide updates that will show how each participant is progressing, as well as how close they are to their objective.
It's something different.
For additional information please call 866.417.4141 or email nicki@41pounds.org
More About the Organization
41 pounds.org was started in a moment of clarity when one of our members looked at the heaping pile of solicitations, credit card applications, and coupon books on his dining room table and realized how wasteful and unwanted junk mail had become. He was fed up and promptly formed a group of people who went to work on stopping this trend.
During the setup process, they discovered some staggering statistics that really bothered them in terms of how costly and inefficient junk mail is to society. One disturbing figure was the basis for the name of their company: An average of 41 pounds of junk mail is sent to every adult citizen each year. Approximately 44% of this mail goes into a landfill unopened.
They decided that they needed to develop and promote a process that could significantly reduce the amount of solicitations that come to their neighborhood.
Their process is simple and takes a minimal amount of your time. The reward is the satisfaction of knowing that valuable resources will no longer be wasted trying to sell you unwanted goods and services. An added benefit is the fact that they will be donating 50% from all of our profits to support conservation and reforestation efforts through various nonprofit environmental organizations.
For more information on 41pounds.org please contact them through the link below or :
Hours: 8am to 9pm Monday Friday EST
Toll Free 866.417.4141
Fax 248.738.2761
41pounds.org
298 W. Saratoga
Ferndale, MI 48220
General Questions: general@41pounds.org
Marketing/Press: marketing@41pounds.org
Support: support@41pounds.org
Quick Facs
Individually, an average of 41 pounds of junk mail are sent to every adult each year. Approximately 44% of which goes to a landfill unopened.
If you cut your bulk mail for 5 years, youll conserve 1.7 trees, 700 gallons of water and prevent 460 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the air.
More than 4 million tons (62,000,000,000 (billion) pieces) of junk mail are produced yearly.
The majority of household waste consists of unsolicited mail.
100 million trees are ground up each year for unsolicited mail.
It is difficult to recycle, as the inks have high concentrations of heavy metals.
The result is more than 4.5 million tons of paper waste each year.
It wastes 28 billion gallons of water for paper processing each year.
Each person will receive almost 560 pieces of junk mail this year.
The average person gets only 1.5 personal letters each week, compared to 10.8 pieces of 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.
42% of timber harvested nationwide ends up as pulpwood for paper.
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%.
Scarce landfill space disfigures rural areas and pollutes ground water.
$320 million of local taxes are used to dispose of unsolicited mail each year.
It costs $550 million yearly to transport junk mail.
Web Links
41pounds.org : http://www.41pounds.org/
Decorating ideas with junk mail: http://www.costumes.org/advice/dumpdecor/junk_mail.htm
Ohio Department of Natural Resources : http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/recycling/awareness/facts/factsheets/junkmail.htm
National Do Not Mail List: https://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/Default.aspx