While looking for more information on combating junk mail (snail mail, not email), I came across some facts from New American Dream and I thought I’d share them with you. Hopefully this list will inspire you to put an end to your own overflowing mailbox.

Junk Mail Facts and Figures
-Source: New American Dream article, “Just the Facts: Junk Mail Facts and Figures”

• 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)
• In 2005, 5.8 million tons of catalogs and other direct mailings ended up in the U.S. municipal solid waste stream – enough to fill over 450,000 garbage trucks. Parked bumper to bumper these garbage trucks would extend from Atlanta to Albuquerque. Less than 36% of this ad mail was recycled. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
• The production and disposal of direct mail consumes more energy than 3 million cars. (New American Dream calculation from U.S. Department of Energy and the Paper Task Force statistics)
• 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)
• California’s state and local governments spend $500,000 each year collecting and disposing of AOL’s direct mail disks alone. (California State Assembly)

If you are anything like me, then you are probably fed up with sorting through 14 pieces of junk mail to find the only 1 real letter. Then again, you could be like my wife who is indifferent to the pile.

Here are a 2 steps you can take to get removed from many mailing lists
Direct Marketing Association offers a great way to remove your name and address from all member organizations (this covers a large portion of your junk). You can visit them online at www.DMAconsumers.org and pay a $1 fee by credit card and this will stop the junk for up to five years. You can also send them a letter with a check for $1 to:
Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 643, Carmel, NY 15012-0643

Another large chunk of your junk are probably credit card offers and these are by far the most dangerous (at least in my modest opinion). Identity theft is a major problem and all of these “Your Preapproved!” credit offerings makes it so easy for the criminals to take advantage of us.

The major credit reporting agencies sell your credit information to any bidder. Direct mail and credit companies will purchase these lists but you can fight back at the source. Visit www.OptOutPrescreen.com to stop the credit reporting agencies like Trans Union, Equifax, Experian and Innovis from selling your information for 5 years. You can also call them at 1.888.5.OPT.OUT (1.888.567.8688) 24 hours a day.

It may take a few months to see the decline but it will decline, my mailbox is proof!