Paper Trail, Part II: Junk Mail

Even if you're not much into environmentalism, I'm guessing you and I have at least one thing in common: we both dislike junk mail. Am I right? I can't think of anyone I know who is actually happy to get all those booklets of ads, "YOU'RE ALREADY A WINNER!" sweepstakes scams, AOL disks, and, most especially, credit card offers. Not only is junk mail annoying, it's also a big waste; as I mentioned in an earlier column, more than half of the paper in my household recycling bin comes straight from the mailbox without even grabbing my attention. What's the point of that?

Fortunately, we can all reduce the amount of paper wasted in junk mail--as well as the daily annoyance of having to sort through the darn stuff--by taking a few simple steps.

If you live in the U.S., the first thing to do is contact the Direct Marketing Association, which includes numerous companies, and have yourself removed from their lists. You can do this at this site; ironically, you'll need to use paper to print the form and mail it to them, unless you want to pay $5 for the convenience of doing it online. Unlike the Federal Do-Not-Call List for telemarketers, the DMA is not legally required to follow this list, but a friend of mine has done this and says that he received significantly less junk mail after a few weeks.

Another source of junk mail--certainly the biggest one for me personally--is credit card offers. Why do all these companies want your credit-card business? Because the three major credit bureaus that keep track of our credit reports sell our names to them. If you look in the fine print on the back of the offers, you'll see that it says, "If you do not want to receive prescreened offers of credit from this and other companies, call Equifax, Inc. toll-free, 1-(888)-567-8688." There's also a mailing address. So there's another way to reduce your junk mail. Remember that if you have more than one adult in your household, you'll need to do this for all of them.

The following websites might also be helpful in de-cluttering your mailbox:
http://www.newdream.org/junkmail/form.php
http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/nwpc/bizjunkmail.htm

If you live in Canada, the people to write to are:
Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association of Canada
1 Concord Gate, Suite 607
Don Mills, Ontario M3C 3N6

I wasn't able to find any other information for people living outside the U.S., but if you get a lot of credit card offers, I would suggest finding out the equivalent of a credit bureau in your country and asking them not to share your name.

Regardless of where you live, you can also call individual companies and ask to be removed from their mailing list if you continue to get mail from them after taking the above steps. Also, watch out when you give your name out to any kind of organization, especially commercial companies; ask them specifically not to sell or trade your name with anyone.

Receiving less junk mail may seem like a tiny, inconsequential thing compared to global warming and all the rest of the environmental problems we face, but we all know that even the little things can add up. Besides, think of how much more fun opening your mailbox will be when you find a letter from an old friend instead of a pile of ugly flyers!