Submitted by Thurston County Solid Waste
“Opting out” is not an option for many people these days. In a world of pervasive social media, with constant visual reminders of all of the fun things that everyone else is doing, nobody wants to be the one missing out on anything.This is especially true if opting out means not being a part of the latest photo your friend just posted that’s sure to get a ton of likes.
Opting out doesn’t have to be a bad thing, however, especially when it comes to junk mail. According to 41pounds.org:
- Americans receive an average of 41 pounds of junk mail per year, of which 44% goes to the landfill.
- More than 100 million trees are cut down each year in order to produce junk mail.
- 28 billion gallons of water go into the production and recycling of junk mail every year.
- Approximately $320 million of local tax money is spent on the disposal of junk mail every year.
Not only is junk mail a nuisance, it is also resource intensive and just plain wasteful. Luckily, opting out of junk mail and unwanted phone books is easy.
Use the sites below to stop receiving unwanted credit card offers, catalogs, magazine subscriptions, coupons and phonebooks. You may also contact the companies directly that you receive mail from and ask to be removed from their mailing lists.
Yellow Pages Opt Out – Use this site to stop receiving the big yellow phone book.
Catalog Choice – This site allows you to input the company information from mailings that you have received and remove your name from the company’s database.
Opt Out Pre-Screen – Use this site to stop receiving credit card offers in the mail.
Direct Mail – Register for the national Do Not Mail List through this site.
DMA Choice – This is a mail preference service that allows consumers to select the companies they wish to continue receiving direct mail from and opt out of the ones they don’t.
The unsolicited ads packet delivered in plastic bags to driveways throughout Thurston County have been of particular local interest lately. As of January 1, 2016 the company that owns the Olympian has indicated that they will no longer be delivering the ad packets to residents.
For more information on recycling and waste reduction visit the Thurston Solid Waste website at www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org or call 360-867-2282.
