Junk-free mailbox

A new company offers relief from unwanted mail

Posted by Maywa Montenegro (Guest Contributor) at 3:38 PM on 22 Oct 2007

Read more about: business | waste

Perhaps the only great thing about having moved four times in the past year is that I get virtually no junk mail, at least yet. At my permanent residence in Tennessee, however, where my parents have lived for over twenty years; the catalogs, credit card offers, and sweepstakes offers cram the mailbox on a daily basis. Just yesterday my mother was telling me how bad it's gotten -- and how bad she feels trekking straight from the post box to the recycling bin with armfuls of glossy glut.

Last year I posted about Greendimes, an agency that, for a dime a day, will do pesky work of unsubscribing you from mailing lists. It was, and still is, a great idea, but unfortunately $36 a year is just above what most people will dish out in order to avoid junk. So I was thrilled to read about a new unsubscribe service that is absolutely free. Called Catalog Choice, it's a site that was developed by three nonprofit environmental groups -- the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Ecology Center. According to the Times, since it was introduced last Wednesday, more than 20,000 people have registered.

Since it targets catalogs only, it may not be as comprehensive as paid services like Greendimes, but who knows? Maybe the feeling of a junk-free mailbox will spawn more support for legislation to enact do-not-mail lists.

For story: Junk-free mailbox
9 Comments | Post a Comment

A note on GreenDimes

I signed up with them after reading about them on Grist and while my experience may be an aberration I will have to issue a hearty caveat emptor on their service.

Since signing up with them my junk mail has INCREASED exponentially. In the beginning I thought my husband or I must have carelessly given our address to some list just prior to joining but after 6-8 months of faithfully adding every catalog to their list only to have six more I have never heard of show up the next month I cannot help but come to the conclusion that signing up for their service was a terrible mistake.

I have tried to contact their customer service eight to ten times about the issue but received only one lackluster response. Most of my emails came back undeliverable.

I am looking forward to trying this new option and if I feel brave enough to try a paid service again will probably try 41pounds.org which I discovered through the New American Dream website.

by colearnek at 4:38 PM on 22 Oct 2007

Junk Mail & Unwanted Catalogs

This is GreenDimes. First of all, thank you Maywa for the mention. Awareness of this junk mail issue is important. There are a few things I would like to comment. I hate enumerating because it sounds so formal, but...

Greendimes is now $15, one time only.
Our service covers both junk mail and unwanted catalogs (typically 75 - 90%)
To the customer who received undeliverable messages, it sounds specific to your case. I know customer service, and they're wonderful. Please contact Andrea directly at andrea@greendimes.com

Take care.

by Sanjiv at 5:29 PM on 22 Oct 2007

Or how about free options?

I got this from an article on KXAN.com some time ago. Never did it, and maybe it's uncool of me to post, since people sell this service, but I like free:

The Postal Service must deliver all properly posted mail. You can, however, reduce the amount of advertising mail you receive by contacting the following organizations to request removal of your name from mailing lists:

Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
P.O. Box 282
Carmel, NY 10512-0282

Trans Union LLC
Name Removal Option
P.O. Box 505
Woodlyn, PA 19094-0505

Experian Consumer Services
901 W. Bond Street
Lincoln, NE 68521-3694

Equifax Inc.
Name Removal Option
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Up to 90 percent of mailing lists are accessed by this process. Registrants generally note a decrease of unsolicited mail one to three months after their names are listed. Since some customers may receive mail under various names, include alternative names or spellings to ensure that the advertiser's mail is stopped.

In summary, by law we must deliver ALL mail that has been paid for - including your private personal mail and that of businesses and organizations.

by batchild at 9:01 PM on 22 Oct 2007

US Postal Service

Post Master General Potter embraced the "Cradle to Cradle" concept. All Priority mailing supplies, which are FREE to customers, are now certified cradle-to-cradle.
http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007/pr07_051 ...

http://www.mbdc.com/c2c/itemDetails.php?item=103

They're developing Earth Class Mail
http://www.scribd.com/doc/17916/Earth-Class-Mail-Send-the ...

There is ongoing Postal research on how to offer a recycling service to Catalog companies who use ideas outlined in the book, CRADLE TO CRADLE. Specifically, catalogs printed on non-paper where the ink can be washed off and the non-paper reused. The Postal Service would deliver the catalogs and re-collect them from customer mail boxes.

Additionally, the USPS is a leader in the drive to develop alternative fuel technologies
http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007/pr07_026 ...

You can log on to usps.com and skip the trip to the Post Office -- save gas and time
http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007/pr07_022 ...

Other ways the postal service is going green:
The Postal Service won the 2006 EPA WasteWise Partner of the Year Award -- for the seventh straight year -- for reducing solid and industrial wastes. This voluntary program assists and challenges organizations to reduce waste in innovative ways.
The Postal Service was inducted into the WasteWise Hall of Fame in 2005 -- 3,200 facilities in the Northeast collectively recycled nearly 39,000 tons of materials that year. No other agency holds this honor.
Postal buildings are going green. New postal facilities have recycled glass fiberglass insulation, natural lighting, thermal window frames, and solar and geothermal systems and water tanks to harvest rainwater from rooftops for reuse.
The Postal Service has more solar photovoltaic systems, used to convert sunlight directly into electricity, than any other agency in the nation.
The Postal Service requires that 75 percent of its new light-duty vehicles can operate on alternative fuels -- a requirement that for seven years has exceeded the standards set by the Clean Air Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
We have a long history of alternative fuel use -- our first experimental electric vehicle was tested in 1899.
We operate the world's largest fleet of alternative fuel vehicles -- more than 36,000 -- that can use clean fuels such as ethanol, compressed natural gas, electricity and biodiesel.

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Ghandi

by Green Granny at 6:25 AM on 23 Oct 2007

UPS green? NIMBY

No love lost for the UPS green efforts. I continue to ask my local post office for the "offensive mail" forms. They always say that they have never heard of such a thing and don't have any such forms. Yes, I know that one can download them from online, but the UPS should know about and have them. I always get the impression that they just don't want to deal with it, so play dumb. I feel pretty certain that they would not properly handle the processing of that form when presented.

NoPunProductions.com ~ AmericaTheGreen.org

by Greta at 9:09 AM on 23 Oct 2007

Seinfeld

Consult the episode where Kramer tries to stop getting mail.

Once again LD (Larry David) is way ahead of the curve. Hehey.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

by amazingdrx at 9:20 AM on 23 Oct 2007

Greta

Do you mean UPS or USPS? They are entirely different.

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Ghandi

by Green Granny at 11:44 AM on 23 Oct 2007

41pounds - Stop Junk Mail, Stop Catalogs and . . .

Hi - Thanks for your post about stopping junk mail and the mention of 41pounds. 41pounds is a nonprofit service that stops 80-95% of your junk mail (and catalogs you select) for 5 years - and best of all, when you sign up, 41pounds will donate $15 to Grist. We have to charge you some money b/c of the work involved to truly stop your junk mail (and because we like to donate to our favorite Green orgs, like Grist). But, 41pounds does not take a profit, and it only takes about 4 minutes of your time to sign up. Check them out at www.41pounds.org

Debbie (with 41pounds)

by Debbie F at 1:21 PM on 23 Oct 2007

Lighter side of junk mail

A group of anti-junk mail experts sponsored videographers to produce humorous videos to stop junk mail. Watch the videos at www.proquo.com/videocontest !

by jpra at 11:00 AM on 09 Jun 2008

ADVERTISING POLICY

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