You run to your mailbox, excited for the expected letter, postcard, or package. But, when you pull it open, you are instead met with an onslaught of paper advertisements, most of which you never asked for.
We all receive junk mail, but almost no one wants to. In fact, we send over 40% of it directly to the landfill without even opening it. The average American gets 40 pounds of catalogs, coupons, and other 'junk' every year, attributing to over 100 million trees cut down annually for the paper. On top of that, producing and distributing the catalogs each year uses 28 billion gallons of water and releases as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere 9 million cars.
So if junk mail is wasteful, annoying, bad for the planet, and creates a lot of clutter at home, how do we stop it?
One option is Catalog Choice, owned by the Story of Stuff Project. After creating a free account, this website allows you to enter which catalog you no longer wish to receive, and they contact the company for you. By doing so, you eliminate unwanted catalogs, coupons, and credit card offers.
The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is another option. For $2, you can register and list the type of mail you want to receive. There are four categories: Credit Offers, Catalogs, Magazine Offers, and Other Mail Offers. You can choose which what's relevant to you, and what you don't want coming to your mailbox.
Getting Yellow Pages you never use? You can also opt out of printed telephone directories online here.
By stopping junk mail, you save trees, water, and time! Check out the Story of Stuff's junk mail page for more information.