“Junk It” – Reduce
Junk Mail Campaign
Are you one of those people who chuck the mountain of junk mailings you receive into the recycle bin without even opening them and would be thankful to have them not arrive in the first place? Happy news: a few simple steps can dramatically reduce this needless waste of trees (100 million per year for the over 500 pieces of junk mail each of us receive annually) as well as reduce postal power, recycling costs, not to mention your time. So what can you do?
· Go to www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/ and register with the DirectMail.com National Do Not Mail List free of charge. This company represents many mail order sales companies, and gives you the option of declining all mailings, or selecting which type of mailings you may be interested in receiving and declining the rest.
· Go to the Customer Service page of Direct Marketers Association at www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailing for instructions on registering for their Mail Preference Service. This can be done online for $1 or by mail. If you are getting junk mail addressed to the previous occupant of your home, you can register them as you would yourself. There is also a service for stopping junk mail addressed to a deceased person.
· Remove your name from the lists of the major credit bureaus by calling 1-888-567-8688, or visiting www.optoutprescreen.com to reduce offers for credits cards or insurance.
·
Do not send in warranty cards. The manufacturer warranties the product
whether you do or not, and the cards are used to gather names for mailing
lists. (Your name is worth anywhere from
3 to 20 cents each time it is sold!) To
have your name removed from those lists, write to National Demographics &
Lifestyle, NDL List Order Services,
·
Search Native Forest Network Guide for more ways
to reduce unwanted junk mail, such as sweepstakes entries and mail arriving at the workplace for addressees
for those who no longer work there,.
·
Try the website http://donotmail.live.radicaldesigns.org/index.php
for more tips.
Be patient. Some companies have their mailers planned way in advance, and it may take as long as 90 days for you to stop getting their mail. So take action to stop your junk mail today and share these tips with others who want to “Junk It.”
Linda Herbert
Walla Walla 2020