You Gotta Help Yourself!

The junk mail we Americans receive in one day could produce enough energy to heat 250,000 homes!The junk mail issue is a tough one to sort through. After all, many of us rely on mail from non-profit groups for credible information about important environmental and social issues. Plus, direct mail is a fundraising lifeline for environmental groups and a key means of mobilizing grass-roots action to protect the earth!

But unwanted junk mail is more than just a nonsense – it’s and environmental hazard. If you saved all the unwanted paper you’ll receive in the mail this year, you’d have the equivalent of 1-½ trees. And so would each of your neighbors. And that adds up to 100 million trees every year.

Here are some facts

Did you know?

• Americans receive almost 2 million tons of junk mail every year.
• About 44% of the junk mail is never opened or read?

• Nonetheless, the average American still spends 8 full months of his or her life just opening junk mail.

• If only 100,000 people stopped their Junk Mail…we could save about 150,000trees every year. If a million people did, we could save some 1.5 million trees.

Simple Things T o Do:

• Write to Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, 6 East 43 rd Street. New York. NY 10017.

They’ll stop your name from being sold to most large mailing list companies. This will reduce your junk mail up to 75%.

• Recycle the junk mail you already get: If it’s printed on newsprint, toss it in with the newspapers. If it’s quality paper, make a separate pile for it – many recycling centers accept both white and colored stock.

What are your junk mail feelings? You are welcome to make a comment. Just click where it says comments at the end of the post.