Not only are pieces of junk mail annoying… they are harmful to the environment! More than half of Americans claim to despise receiving junk mail. Together, there are ways we can stop receiving junk mail and help save millions of trees.
Junk Mail Facts
New Dream.org has a great list of facts to show the magnitude of this destructive phenomenon. A couple of tidbits from that list include:
- More than 100 million trees’ worth of bulk mail come to America’s homes in a year.
- In 2005, 5.8 million tons of catalogs and other direct mailings ended up in the U.S. municipal solid waste stream – enough to fill over 450,000 garbage trucks.
- The production and disposal of direct mail consumes more energy than 3 million cars.
- Other facts we found:
- 250,000 homes could be heated with one day's supply of junk mail click here
- 44% of all junk mail goes into landfills unopened click here
Simple Steps
- Take 3 minutes (really, I just did it myself!) to sign up to stop receiving junk mail through the national “do not mail” list
- Sign petitions to stop some of the biggest perpetrators of junk mail
- Purchase items online that you would normally buy through catalogues
- Do billing online to also reduce paper waste from monthly bills, paper checks and bank statements
- For a fresh look at what to do once you have junk mail, check out LiveSans and learn how to create decorative envelopes to send to out again. Fun to do with kids!
