7.  Dial out of unwanted phone books. Even though phone books are recycled in many communities, more than 660,000 tons still end up in the trash every year. This waste could be stemmed by first eliminating the delivery of unsolicited or unwanted phone books. Call the numbers below to remove your address from phone book delivery lists:

i.  DEX: 1-877-243-8339 ii.  Yellow Book: 1-800-929-3556 — renew every two years iii.  Verizon: 1-888-266-5765

8. Hire a junk mail removal service like 41pounds.org to help you reduce junk mail.  Don’t have the time to do it all yourself? For $41 (just 2 cents a day), the 41pounds.org service will contact 20-35 direct mail companies to remove your name from their distribution lists. This includes almost all credit card applications, coupon mailers and magazine offers, plus the catalogs you specify. 
41pounds.org does all the legwork to reduce your junk mail by 80-95% for five years — and donates $15 to Eco-Cycle!

Your Skinny Mailbox Tomorrow

By reducing your junk mail for 5 years, you’ll conserve 1.7 trees and 700 gallons of water, prevent global warming emissions — and you’ll gain about 350 hours of free time!

Do you have any additional tips? Please post them here so we can all take advantage of your ideas.

5.  Charities: If you contribute once a year to a charitable organization, ask them to send you only one donation request per year. The American Institute on Philanthropy offers a sample letter that you can send to charities and other organizations to reduce mail and phone solicitations that request donations.

6.  Contests: Watch out for contests and free offers. Their purpose is often to obtain your name for mailing lists or to sell you something.

3.  Avoid getting on even more mailing lists. Take precautions whenever you submit your name and address to anyone. If you’re filling out a form such as a warranty, subscription, raffle, customer information card, credit card application, membership for an organization, etc., add the phrase “please do not rent, sell, or trade my name or address” next to the other information you provide. Repeat these same magic words every time you’re giving a company or organization your name and address over the phone or Internet, such as when ordering a catalog or making a purchase. The sales representative will then flag your name and preference in their computer.

4.  End Credit Card Solicitations. To eliminate credit card promotional mailings, call 1-888-567-8688 (that’s 888-5OPT-OUT) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com. You will have the opportunity to choose either a five-year removal or a permanent removal.For your personal credit cards, ask the company to place you on their “in house” list that is not sold or traded to other companies.

1.  Sign up at the Do Not Mail List.  Just go to www.directmail.com and at the bottom of the left column click on the National Do Not Mail List and follow the instructions. This will cancel most of your junk mail.

2.  Add your name to the Direct Marketing Association’s do-not-mail list. It’s easy. Just register online at www.dmachoice.org. They will remove your name from marketer’s lists.

Did you know that the average adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year?  Help your bloated mailbox go on a diet!  By reducing your junk mail, you are saving trees, reducing global warming, and conserving water.

The Effect of your Bloated Mailbox Today

• Junk mail destroys 100 million trees every year.
• 44% of junk mail goes to the landfill unopened.
• On average, Americans receive 16 pieces of junk mail a week, compared to only 1.5 personal letters.
• Each of us wastes 70 hours of precious time each year dealing with junk mail.
• 40% of the solid mass that makes up our landfills is paper and paperboard waste.
• Junk mail inks have high concentrations of heavy metals, making the paper difficult to recycle.
• $320 million of local taxes are used to dispose of junk mail each year.
• The pulp and paper industry is the single largest consumer of water used in industrial activities in developed countries, and it’s the third-largest industrial greenhouse gas emitter (after the chemical and steel industries).  28 billion gallons of water are wasted to produce and recycle junk each year.
• Creating and shipping junk mail produces more greenhouse gas emissions than 9 million cars.