6 Ways To Stop The Phone Book Delivery Blitz

It has long been my habit to start the morning in chaos. If I'm not running incredibly late, I'm cursing my messy room, frantically searching for that matching sock or scouring the hamper for something remotely presentable.

This morning's madness, reached an unprecedented level of pandemonium. After wrestling my hair dryer from a prison of wires, my eyeliner exploded all over my face--I looked like a 17th century chimney sweep. If that wasn't bad enough, my toilet went postal. It wouldn't stop running. Over and over again it flushed and flushed and flushed--my environmental nightmare. Finally, after wrangling that can to a lull, I sprinted out of my apartment.

But not so fast! As I leaped out the door, wrestling my arm through an unruly coat, my foot caught the edge of a large stack of telephone books piled neatly on my front doormat. The pile was wrapped in plastic, which snagged my horned boot and sent me hurdling through the air. I landed, hands, knees and face on a dirty hallway floor. I was livid. Quite honestly, I still am. No doubt, the above experience makes me biased. Yet, who can deny, the unsolicited distribution of phone books is absolutely absurd?

First of all, phone books are terrible for the environment. Just consider the massive amount of energy consumed for their production and distribution. 540 million are doled out every year. And even though many are 40% post-consumer recycled, phone books still require enormous quantities of paper, ink and oil. When we throw them out--usually within five seconds of finding them on the doorstep--they steal space in the local landfill.

Second, NOBODY EVER USES PHONE BOOKS! Honestly, when's the last time you opened one? They're absolutely outmoded dinosaurs. Who needs them when there's Google 411? Besides, doesn't everybody know the best escort services are listed in the alt-weekly?

Ok, ok. I'm being a bit extreme. Of course, not everyone has internet access and many people use phone books for local listings. Yet, given today's information age, is it not possible to have a strict solicit-only system for these energy and resource sucking manuscripts? I raise my glass to such a concept. If you agree, here are some simple ways to join the fight against useless phone book distribution.

1. Opt Out

Click here to request that your name and address be removed from the Yellow Pages printed directory mailing list.

2. Get Just One

If you still want to get one phone book, not 10 at a time. Call the individual titles directly. Tell them how many books you want a year and to stop unloading duplicates on your front porch.

AT&T/YellowPages (formerly SBC and Bell South):

1-800-792-265

Dex:

1-877-243-8339

Yellow Book:

1-800-373-3280 or 1-800-373-2324

3. Write a letter to the Yellow Pages Association

Yellow Pages Association (YPA)

Global Headquarters

Two Connell Drive, First Floor

Berkeley Heights, N.J. 07922-2747

[phone]

[phone] (Fax)

4. Go To The Head Honcho

Hit up the president of the Yellow Pages Association for some one-on-one fire.

Mr. Negley (Neg) Norton

President, Yellow Pages Association (YPA)

Two Connell Drive, First Floor

Berkeley Heights, N.J. 07922-2747

[phone]

[e-mail]

5. Sign the Petition

Tell congress to make unsolicited phone book distribution illegal. Sign the petition at PaperlessPetition.org.

6. Recycle

Now what to do with all those old phone books collecting dust? Recycle them of course. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, for every 500 phone books recycled, 7,000 gallons of water, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, 17 to 31 trees and 4,100 kilowatts of electricity are saved. That's enough power to serve an average home for 6 months.

In most cases, you can simply toss your old phone book in your curbside paper-recycling bin. Some regions, however, require phone books be dropped off at specified recycling centers. To learn the rules for your district, visit the "Keep American Beautiful" recycling directory.

If you don't want to recycle your old phone books, repurpose them for something useful. Yellow pages make excellent booster seats, cockroach killers and X-acto knife cutting surfaces.

Follow Olivia Zaleski on Twitter: www.twitter.com/oliviazaleski

Comments

[rsh]

Thank you for this post. This is just the type of information I've been looking for.

I think that the phone companies should voluntarily have an opt out list and should respect the wishes of those who want to opt out.

I think that a problem with having an opt in type set up where people would have to ask for the phone book is that there are many people who would not be informed that this is the case. I'm thinking mainly of older citizens who really do still rely on the paper phone book. I can't think of a single good way to inform everyone that they now have to opt in to receive a phone book.

So while an opt in process sounds good at first, I think it would leave many older citizens, and others who don't rely on technology, without a resource that they count on.

But, a "do not deliver to me personally any paper phone book in any form at any time" option - I'm all for that.

[Micky]

Great article. It's one of my pet peeves. I live in a 12-unit apartment building. We get two sets of yellow pages, AT&T and another wanna be. I mean to ask our police department to define the difference between illegal litter and unsolicited, tree-killing junk like these 700-page advertisements.

[YellowPagesAssoc]

Contrary to Ms. Zaleski's post, print Yellow Pages were referenced 13.4 billion times in 2006, as many Americans - who may not be Huffington Post readers - still rely on the Yellow Pages. Additionally, millions of advertisers - many of them small businesses, from plumbers to doctors to landscape contractors - rely on the Yellow Pages to promote their business and the medium's 14:1 return on investment.

The Yellow Pages industry takes environmental operating practices very seriously, and our paper manufacturers, printers and publishers collaborate to develop recyclable advertising products. The Yellow Pages Association encourages consumers to recycle as recycled phone books are used to produce insulation, ceiling tiles, paper towels, grocery bags, pet bedding and cereal boxes.

For recycling tips and more information, we encourage you to visit the Yellow Pages Association "Yellow is Green" Web site at www.ypassociation.org.

[olda]

Just as bad try having a small businss the so called choice - lower cost- pure bs cost for ads the same if not more but now you have several phone book co calling bugging you to place ads. we only need 1 phone book btw the Yellow Book is really crappy its incomplete.

[texastrixie]

We need the Yellow Pages - the original. What we don't need is "yellow book," the Verizon yellow pages and all those specialty advertising yellow pages. I throw everything away that isn't the original yellow pages. That we use a lot at our house. We aren't online a lot, and the yellow pages allows me to search for services (chinese resturants, barber shops, etc) by looking through the addresses for something close to home. I keep those little phone books in the car and it does save on 411/information calls - they cost $$$.

[mckinley]

Here in western New York, everyone gets 2 full size phonebooks delivered, from competing companies.

[RumiSouth]

As someone who has delivered phone books for the last few years, I can safely say the following:

1.) The deliverer screwed up. The books are supposed to be placed against the hinge-side of the door, the one place you must go out of your way to step on anything.

2.) A shocking number of people want phone books, for all kinds of reasons. (I keep one in my car -- it saves on 411 charges to my cell.) The phone companies actually give the delivery drivers extra books because so many people ask for more than one copy. While delivering even in posh neighborhoods, I have been waved down by neighbors who weren't on the delivery list.

[rlc41]

The six or seven phone books I recieve every year are in plastic bags and thrown randomly in my front yard. Since I always come in and out of my house through the back it can be weeks before I even look at my front yard. Usually I find all the telephone books when the spring thaw comes. Needless to say they are quite useless by then.

[Portnoy]

I agree with most except for this one:

Tell congress to make unsolicited phone book distribution illegal. Sign the petition at PaperlessP­etition.or­g.

Uh..no. THere are plenty of other options. This "There Aught to be a Law" mentality is destructive.

Slippery slopes aside, why stop here?

[Checquoline]

At last, someone who hates phone books as much as I do. I don't mind having one in the house but no one ever puts it up after they use it and that is why I hate phone books. It is always in front of me. No one wants to throw one away even last years because numbers are written in it bla bla bla. But after years of hating the phone book, I now have taken my power back and throw all but the new one away. If they want to save phone books they have to keep them in their car.

[DouginCT]

Agreed. They should be on-demand, and for sale at a local book store. Thus, reprinted upon demand. So despite the sarcastic responses above, your idea is tremendous and necessary. The waste to benefit of these books is insane. We get six books a year, and maybe used them five times in 2007. A waste. But obviously they are big business, so they won't agree to 'on-demand' easily.

[MrWampler]

You are 100% correct Ms. Zaleski. I live in an apartment complex and once a month I see phone books sprinkled everywhere, each in an individual plastic bag. Last week, we got a double-book: the big book and its identical mini-me. In four weeks, we'll get another phone book from another telecom. What a massive waste of resources! I haven't used a phone book in over a decade. It should be an opt-in if you really need the book.

Christ, what vitriol by these other posters: "You also might want to keep in mind that electronic gadgets are much more damaging to the environment." by TheLar. My laptop is used incessantly for numerous reasons and lasts several years. A phone book isn't used at all and, despite this, is magically replaced every 4-5 weeks. Electronic gadget wins.

Calgary, you don't use disposable diapers, but they don't appear by the truckload on your doorstop either. And I did google "racoons in attic" and found plenty of help.

[calgary]

Olivia, what do you do when your toilet backs up or you accidently back your hybrid against your garage door and damaging it? I suspect you call your super or Mom and Dad for the first one and for the second one, I suspect you do not own a house hence you have no garage door to back up against. Just because you do not use something does not make it meaningless for the rest of the world. I don't use disposable diapers and they fill up the landfill even more. Just wait until you get older and start owning a house, have kids, have older parent to take care of, have health problems. You will have less time for blogging and checking out rating and reviews on Yelp and life becomes more mundate like I have a family of racoons living in my attic. What do I do? Ah, I seem to remember that yellowbook in front of my apartment that I use to ignore. Of course, you can try Googling racoons in attic and see what kind of results you wil get that will help your prolbem- not much. I too never used yellowpages until I was in my 30's. You will be in your 30s and 40s and 50s and 60s...

[TheLar]

While I admire your intent, I suspect you're leaving out people who don't have cell phones, computers, etc.

I want to order a pizza, hmm, let me boot up my computer here, just a moment, let me log on to a website, okay, just a second, let me enter my info in the form and wait for a call back....etc.

You also might want to keep in mind that electronic gadgets are much more damaging to the environment.

[lamarguerite]

Thanks Olivia. I did not look into it, but I wonder if Green Dimes could also take care of the phone books in one big swipe?

http://lamarguerite.wordpress.com
Green girl, green blogger