green is universal

Posted by: lauren on November 4, 2007 11:29 AM

i get at least 5 credit card offers in the mail a week. add it up over the course of a year and thats a lot of tress that died for me to throw this junk mail in the trash.

Posted by: laura on November 4, 2007 08:08 PM

when i get junk mail, i tear it up and stuff it in those postage paid envelopes and mail them back. in my town we have to buy garbage tags before putting garbage out on the street and i'm not paying for junkmail trash.

Posted by: bill on November 4, 2007 08:08 PM

i just moved a couple of months ago and thought I had escaped the daily assault of catalogues and junk mail. They have all found me, even the duplicate copies from the same companies.

Posted by: bills on November 4, 2007 08:11 PM

I cut down on paper by recycling junk mail envelopes and single sided flyers for notepads.

Posted by: Brett on November 4, 2007 11:10 PM

Junk mail is a major problem that is only continuing to grow – something nobody likes to deal with on a daily basis. I recently signed up for a service through 41pounds.org, and the junk mail actually stopped! It was a simple process in signing up and the overall service seems to have environmental impact (helping to reduce the consumption of resources used to produce junk mail). If more people could band together to do things like this, junk mail and its impact on our earth would be greatly reduced. 41pounds.org is a service I'd definitely recommend to all! =)

Posted by: murray on November 5, 2007 10:00 AM

can we stop junk mail at the post office?

Posted by: Todd on November 5, 2007 10:45 AM

There are ways to opt out of junk mail like credit card offers and catalogs described and linked here.
http://lifehacker.com/software/mail/five-ways-to-clean-up-your-snail-mail-228029.php

Posted by: Laurel Suttmiller on November 5, 2007 11:22 AM

The web site I have heard promoted on MSNBC three times today already, catalogchoice.com, is not what it purports to be. I can't find a link to opt out of catalogs (though several to be added to lists) and many of the links are for sites that charge a fee to opt out of direct mail and credit card offers. This site appears to be targeted more at people who want to do direct mail or e-mail marketing. [from GreenIsUniversal.com -- the site we are talking about is CatalogChoice.org, not .com. Hope that works better for you]

Posted by: BARBARA SPUDE on November 5, 2007 11:30 AM

MY GIRLFRIEND AND I HAVE A DISAGREEMENT WHICH PERTAINS TO CONSERVING ENERGY. SHE SAYS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT TURN YOUR LIGHT SWITCHES ON AND OFF ALL THE TIME, FOR EXAMPLE, GOING UP AND DOWNSTAIRS. SHE SAYS IT WASTE MORE ENERGY TURNING THEM ON AND OFF THEN LEAVING THEM ON FOR 10 - 15 MINS. PLEASE LET US KNOW WHICH IS THE CORRECT WAY. THANK YOU. [ from GreenIsUniversal.com -- the consensus is you're right and your girlfriend is wrong on this one. Check out the write-up from the folks at Grist.Org here: http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2003/01/16/umbra-lights/ ]

Posted by: Deb on November 5, 2007 01:13 PM

Direct Mail is a huge industry that employs many people. Renewable resources (trees) are used. Credit card companies and other companies send solicitations and catalogs because they make money doing so. Printers, data processing companies, graphic artists, marketing people, and the USPS, etc., EMPLOY people to create direct mail. Making money is not evil, it allows people to pay their mortgages, pay their bills, and go on vacations once a year. Recycle the stuff, remove your name from things, but try to remember people earn their living from producing it.

Posted by: Laurel Suttmiller on November 5, 2007 02:08 PM

Yes, thank you for the clarification!

Posted by: Lindsay Arfsten on November 5, 2007 03:36 PM

I'm creating a school assembly for kids expressing ways they can save the planet. What are your kids doing to help?

Posted by: Lindsay Arfsten on November 5, 2007 03:36 PM

I'm creating a school assembly for kids expressing ways they can save the planet. What are your kids doing to help?

Posted by: Christine on November 5, 2007 03:40 PM

http://www.greendimes.com/ promises to reduce junk mail by up to 90% for a $15 yearly fee; it lets you log in and manage the mail you receive.

Posted by: Courtney on November 6, 2007 02:24 AM

I take all of my junk mail and credit card apps to my office and they get shredded. I work for a company that supports MR/DD consumers. They shred the paper then take it to the local animal shelter.

Posted by: Mike Bucciferro on November 6, 2007 10:31 AM

when i clicked to opt out of one catalog it took me forever, its been like 4 minutes now, and nothing has happened. Should it take this long?

Posted by: I Stanton on November 6, 2007 01:01 PM

Hi- I just want to pass on a little info I found out about a fortnight ago. You know that USPS (US Postal Service) is hyping "Biodegradable boxes" and their efforts to go green? All that is great. If only it was more than mostly hype.

The USPS gives away free Priority Mail boxes (how many will be used this XMAS season --- millions?) to use their Priority Mail service. As as an Ebayer I often receive those boxes when my items are mailed Priority Mail. As a I want to recycle as much as possible I reuse everything-the nasty petroleum based Styrofoam peanuts and any still sturdy boxes etc from my purchases.

But STOP! USPS refuses to send out a reused Priority Mail boxes even if they are turned inside out so no Priority Mail lettering is visible.

Example: I was shipping something and not using the pricey Priority Mail but was reusing a box already used for its original intention (& paid handsomely for the privilege). I was told I would have to send the package Priority Mail at an extra $5.00 anyway despite it being "recycled". (Plus having to speed the package along using more gas and resources when there was absolutely no rush in delivery)The logic? USPS says they OWN these boxes FOREVER and that I cannot reuse them without their approval or approved methods. I offered to open the box to verify it was previously used as a Priority Package (it still had the old sticker showing it was already used for its Priority purpose & I was merely trying to recycle). USPS refused my package and said they would prefer I SEND IT TO THE LANDFILL instead of reusing it for anything other than Priority Mail. I said that once it was used for its intention it was not theirs to decide- despite their claims to the contrary I did not feel they owned the used box until it broke down to its molecular components.

What a waste. I filed a complaint but all I got was that this policy was in place to cut down on people "stealing" their boxes. I can sympathize but since I offered proof of it being a RECYCLED box I think their policy is silly and WASTEFUL. Green USPS? Don't you believe it!

Posted by: Nicole on November 6, 2007 10:02 PM

Can we take all of our junk mail to the local paper recycling? The big problem that I have is that when I recycle my boxes for the garbage company, but they just throw them in the back of the truck with the rest of the garbage. We have to buy stickers to put on our garbage bags for our weekly pick up. How is that saving a tree. I have never heard of such a thing until I moved here. How is this green?

Posted by: Mike on November 10, 2007 03:33 PM

For many people, advertising mail is informative and provides value, convenience and fun. However, direct marketing companies recognize that some people do not like to receive advertising mail.

If you want to reduce the amount of national advertising mail you receive at home, send your name and address to the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service (MPS):

DMA Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512

After a few months, the MPS will reduce the amount of advertising mail you receive. You will continue to receive mail from companies with which you do business.

Names remain part of the MPS for five years. After five years, you will need to register with the MPS again.

If you continue to receive unwanted mail after a few months, the Direct Marketing Association suggests that you write directly to the mailer to request that your name be removed from the mailer's list.
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Another tip that I read in either Dear Abby or Ann Landers is that if you get unwanted cataloges, do the following.

Cut out the section on the order form with your name and address and their identifying info. Write on it "PLEASE REMOVE ME FROM YOUR LIST."

Return it to them in their PRE-PAID mailing envelope.

If the envelope is NOT pre-paid, the suggestion from the columnist was this. Do the same thing, but instead of YOUR return address on the envelope, write the COMPANY'S return address on the envelope. Do NOT apply postage.

By postal regulation, the envelope will be returned "to sender" (the catalogue company) for "insuffient postage" who will gladly pay thinking there is an order inside. Instead, they will get your request to be removed from their list.
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If you are ambitious, every time you get a catalogue in the mail, you can always call the toll-free number too, and asked to be removed. Beware though, you will get their catalogues for months to come before it "catches up."