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VACATION HOLD FOR JUNK MAIL?
by JANE BOGNER
SUNDAY, July 27, 2003

All of us look forward to a long summer vacation, but we don’t look forward to coming home to tons of junk mail. I know the readers of this column are avid recyclers and I know we have neighbors who don’t recycle. So cut out this column and pass it on or visit our website to e-mail it to your friends.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, companies sent out over 90 billions pieces of junk mail in 2000. Of this total, forty-four percent was thrown away unopened and only a paltry 22 percent of it was recycled.

Reducing your junk mail takes diligence but it does pay off. Some days we receive only one piece of mail at our home.

STOPPING JUNK MAIL

1. Request that your name be removed from future mailing lists by sending a dated postcard to the following address. Remember to send all versions of your name including misspelled names.

Direct Mail Marketing Assoc.
Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 9008
Famingdale, NY 11735-9008

This free service is good for five years. One caveat: it works only for national mail, not local mail, and only for residential addresses, not businesses.

2. If a solicitation comes with a postage-paid return envelope, write a note on their form to remove your name from their list and let them pay the return postage.

3. Eliminate duplicate mailings. Return all versions of the labels that you want stopped along with the one you want continued.

4. First Class mail can be sent back; just cross out the address and write (I can hear Elvis singing) “Refused: Return to Sender.” Some bulk mail can be returned if “Address Correction Requested” is on the envelope.

5. When you renew or cancel subscriptions or memberships, do it as soon as possible to avoid getting additional reminders.

6. Think twice about sending in warranty cards. Your dated receipt is usually enough to satisfy the warranty. Write boldly on the cards that you do send that you do not want any junk mail. Do keep in mind that companies sometimes use these warranty cards to notify you when their products are recalled.

7 Catalogs: call toll-free numbers on catalogs and ask that your name be removed from their lists. When placing a new order, ask them not to sell your name.

Of the 17 billion catalogs mailed every year to American consumers (that's 59 catalogs for each and every one of us!), few were printed on recycled paper. An Environmental Defense Fund survey found that only six of 42 major catalog companies used recycled paper. You can cancel your paper catalog and start using their web sites. Most companies will email you specials from their catalogs.

You can get more tips for reducing junk mail at www.junkbusters.com, www.newdream.org or www.the-dma.org.

VALCORE Recycling Vice President Jane Bogner's "A Sorted Affair" is published every other week in the Times-Herald, Community Outlook Section. For recycling information call Genie Kaggerud, VALCORE Recycling Manager at 645-8258 or visit www.VALCORErecycling.org

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