Stop The Junk Mail Cycle

Junk mail is by in large part of the "white noise" in life. Most of us accept it as such. Some of us loathe it. Here are some effective tips for slimming out that daily stack of mail. It is alarming to find that most of the companies (credit card companies, mortgage companies, banks, etc.) we do business with sell our information to Marketers everyday.

Here’s a list of facts that will inspire you to make a few phone calls and send a few postcards:

1. More than 100 million trees’ worth of bulk mail arrive in American mail boxes each year – that’s the equivalent of deforesting the entire Rocky Mountain National Park every four months. (New American Dream calculation from Conservatree and U.S. Forest Service statistics)

2. In 2003, 5.4 million tons of catalogs and other direct mailings ended up in the U.S. municipal solid waste stream – enough to fill over 420,000 garbage trucks. Parked bumper to bumper these garbage trucks would extend from Atlanta to Albuquerque.

3.Only 32% of this ad mail was recycled. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

4. The production and disposal of junk mail consumes more energy than 2.8 million cars. (New American Dream calculation from U.S. Department of Energy and the Paper Task Force statistics)

5. Citizens and local governments spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year to collect and dispose of all the bulk mail that doesn’t get recycled. (New American Dream estimate from EPA statistics)

6. California’s state and local governments spend $500,000 each year collecting and disposing of AOL’s direct mail disks alone. (California State Assembly)

~ New American Dream, Junk Mail Facts

Too much junk to deal with individually, then purge away: Start by sending a letter with a chack for $1 to Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, PO Box 643, Carmel, NY 15012-0643 or go to their website and fill out the form and pay the $1 fee using a credit card. Include your complete name, address, zip code and a request to “activate the preference service”. For up to five years, this will stop mail from all member organizations that you have not specifically ordered products from. Here’s another association to contact, as well; Stop Junk Mail Association, 3020 Bridgeway #150, Sausalito, CA 94965 (800)827-5549.

I would say more than 50% of our daily junk mail was credit card offers. The thing that concerns me about these is that anybody “fishing” for identities or false credit card accounts can use these offers as a springboard for identity theft. I think by now we have all seen the excerpts on your local news were people test the credit card application (system) by applying for credit cards using their pet’s names. Credit card companies are all too eager to give you a card these days because there is big money in it for them.

Credit offers: The major credit agencies all sell aggregate credit information to any bidder. Direct mail and credit companies generate mail based on demographics including zip code, income band and credit payment patterns. Through OptOutPreScreen stopping this permanently is easy, you just need to fill out the online form (and mail it in) or email the response for a five-year opt-out.

One call does it all for agencies Equifax, Trans Union, Experian and Innovis. Dial 1-888-5 OPT OUT (or 1-888-567-8688) 24 hours a day. Here are the individual numbers for a more pointed effort;

Equifax - (800) 556-4711

Experian (formerly TRW) - (800) 353-0809

Trans Union - (800) 680-7293

It is important to know how the laws work and these entities operate. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) describes the direct mail provision of the new law this way.

“Consumers gain protections against unsolicited credit and insurance offers, including the multiple credit card offers that many consumers receive on a daily basis. Under the old law, creditors and insurers were able to use the credit reporting agencies’ file information as a basis for developing lists of consumers to whom they send offers. Under the new law, consumers can follow a simple procedure to “opt out” of inclusion on future lists. They can call a toll-free number that each bureau has established (that will appear prominently on each offer), and have their name removed from these lists for two years. If they request, they will be sent a form that will allow them to take their names off of these credit bureau lists permanently.“

First class mail: Cross out the address and bar code, circle the first class postage and write “refused: return to sender”. Drop in any mail box, it will be returned to the sender.

Bulk mail: The post office throws away bulk mail it can’t deliver, so returning it does no good. Bulk mail is the hardest to deal with because the USPS actively provides addresses (even when you move), support and encouragement to mailers. However, if “address correction requested” is written on the label: circle “address correction requested” and treat like first class mail.

Although when you move, send a postcard with your name and your old address and new address to N.C.O.A. (National Change Of Address) Customer Support 6060 Primacy Pkwy, #101 Memphis TN 38188.

Here’s a list of random but classic junk mail items that you can rid yourself of:

Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes: You can get the Clearinghouse to stop clogging your mailbox by contacting customer service at 1-800-645-9242 (8:30 am to 8:30 EST), sending a fax to 1-800-453-0272, mailing to 101 Channel Drive, Port Washington, NY 11050, or you can send email to pch@ant.net. PCH will remove any number of names from a specific address, but you have to list each name exactly and insist nicely. Please refer to their Privacy Policy on their site.

Local business & supermarket fliers: All mailings must be identified, by postal regulations. Each lose-leaf bundle of fliers, by postal regulations, must be delivered at the same time as an address card. Locate this address card; the cards usually have an advertisement and a photograph of a missing child. Call directory assistance to get the phone number of the sender, and call to get off the list:

ADVO: (Mail comes with pictures of missing children). Call to get off the list, 888-241-6760 (8:30am-5:00pm EST). You may have to send a postcard to “ADVO Consumer Assistance, POB 249, Windsor CT 06095-4176?.

Val-Pak Coupons: click the link and fill out the form - easy, but don’t give them your email address.

Carol Wright Gifts: 340 Applecreek Road, Lincoln, NE 68528-1501

Your local newspaper & supermarket (look for a phone number on the piece).

Now if I we could only find and equally effective solution for eliminating SPAM.

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