Green Your Junk Mail

Junk mail can ruin your day: 5.6 million annual tons of ads choking mailboxes isn't pleasant for mail-getters, and it's even harder on the environment. Here are the Sierra Club's tips to help you curb the volume of waste piling up in your real-life inbox.

Tip #1: Stop it at its Source
Visit sites such as OptOutPrescreen to remove yourself from the hit lists of insurance and credit-card services, two of the largest sources of junk mail. If a particular corporate culprit is harassing you with unprovoked offers, call the company directly and politely request that they knock it off. But the biggest step you can take is to add your name to "Do Not Mail" lists via the Mail Preference Service.

Tip #2: Recycle It
Just a ton of recycled paper can keep 3.3 cubic yards safe from landing in a landfill. Tossing all that "direct mail" into the trash is a useless gesture; sure, it feels gratifying to throw away that credit-card offer without even opening it, but its much better for the Earth if you participate in the U.S. Postal Service's lobby recycling program, started in 2008 and expanded in 2009. Or just recycle paper via your municipal pick-up to give your junk mail a new life as a magazine or a roll of toilet paper.

Tip #3: Escape the System
We've given you tips about how to get off the lists of relentless ad campaigns, but how do you get on them in the first place? Whenever a cashier or website asks for your address or phone number for a company's rewards program, you're probably being added to a list of other victims soon to be dealing with said company's direct-mail campaign. Corporations track your purchases to identify what products you are more likely to buy, but a resounding "no" to their original offer can save you some postal harassment.

Tip #4: Make it Law
In 2008, 18 states were tinkering with laws regarding junk mail. A Vermont legislator, Chris Pearson, actually made it one of his campaign's focal points. While the USPS countered that direct mail was its life blood and helps maintain jobs, it kills 100 million trees each year. Such responses have caused the debate to dwindle to a single voice in Spokane, Washington. However, if you hear of candidates, initiatives, or proposed legislation to reduce junk mail, consider lending them your support.