Enviro-Mental: How To Get Rid Of Junk Mail In 7 Minutes Or Less

Few things make me more "enviro-mental" than junk mail. While the numbers vary from source to source, it's confirmed that each year hundreds of millions of trees are cut down for unsolicited mail. Add billions of gallons of water for paper production and you've got environmental assault.

Global warming aside, I'm getting sick of sorting through piles of useless coupons, credit card offers and sweepstakes. The catalogs are the worst--can someone please tell me why I receive catalogs for Male Big & Tall, Omni Cheer, and UPCO Bird? I am neither plus-size male, nor cheerleader, nor bird enthusiast.

Fed up, I've embarked on a quest to get these hawkers off my back. Join me by following these 3 steps. It'll take you less than seven minutes (I've timed my friends and family) and you'll feel good for saving the trees.

1. Put the kibosh on catalogues

When you buy something from a catalog, your transaction is likely to be reported to Abacus, owned by DoubleClick Digital Advertising, who sells, rents, and whores your information to additional catalog companies and publishers.

Stop catalogs by emailing Abacus Catalog Alliance [e-mail]. Just say, "leave me alone you dirty catalog company," and don't forget to include your first, middle, and last names, current address, and if you've moved recently, your previous address.

2. Cease solicitations

They may seem innocent, but common companies often sell your personal spending information to credit bureaus. Credit bureaus use the information to create lists based on consumer characteristics (i.e. income brackets, spending habits, boxer-briefs preferences) and rent them to marketers, credit card and insurance industries in search of specific demographics.

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA, 15 USC 1681) and some states' laws require credit-reporting companies to honor consumers' list-removal requests. Call 1- (888) - 5OPTOUT or (888-567-8688) and tell the credit bureaus to leave you in peace.

3. Stymie fliers, sweepstakes, and useless product offers

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), funded by marketing companies, is a lobbying group that collects and distributes consumer information to its members. Indirectly, they're responsible for those disheartening sweepstakes and lets be honest, I have a better chance of marrying Prince William than winning a million dollars and a bunch of balloons from Publishers Clearing House.

The DMA is required by law to respect consumer's list-removal requests. There is, however, a $1 removal fee. Infuriating! You can register for their "do not mail me" list.

Follow the above three steps and within six weeks you'll see a significant decrease in junk mail; bear in mind floaters and local flyers will manage to sneak through.

If "decrease" doesn't cut it, if you aim to dismember, slay, and bury the junk mail beast, you'll have to put in more time--a lot more--than seven minutes. For watertight protection, visit Junkbusters, a virtual armory of junk mail weaponry, even the most obscure leaflets, brochures, and take-out menus can't break.

Comments

[midtown]

Someone told me you have to do the DMA every three months.

[Crowhaul]

Here's what I do with all my junk mail: I circle my address with my blunt-tip magic marker, and write in big letters "No spam pls". Then I put it all right back in my mailbox. And leave it there. Tudo acabado.

[RaderBarbarian]

My way is to attack the "Pimp of Junk Mail," the US Postal Service. I figure the carrier brought and he/she can just haul it back. I gather as huge a pile of the stuff as I can carry, careful to tear off the labels that contain my name (much of it has no label at all despite the law requiring one), and then I take the pile of junk to the nearest public postal drop-off box. I stuff every pieces of it in there, crumpling it as I do so and frequently filling the letterbox up completely. Somebody is going to have to sort through all that junk and get rid of it - and that somebody is not me!

Imagine if everyone saved up their junk mail and did the same thing with it. How long do you think it would take before the U.S. Postal Service came to realize that hauling off all that torn and crumpled junk mail is not very cost-effective and is eating up the profit the postal service makes from its cut-rate junk mail prices?

In any case, it sure makes me feel better! And I pity the letter carriers not one whit. They are what is known as "accessories to the crime," and I hope their backs hurt at the end of the day.

[Usedtobequiet]

I think this approach is full of anger...very bad karma! I disagree that our postal service carriers should pay for this!

Here are some more good resources:
http://www.epa.state.oh.us/opp/consumer/junkmail.html

There are some days that I get no mail at all. I have sent back some stuff in the company's own prepaid postage return envelopes with a "please remove my name from your mailing list" note.

I feel a responsibility about the mail that I receive, so I recycle what I don't need. Would the postal service do that?

[HarveyD]

Hit them in the pocketbook where it really hurts. Try this:

When you get those "pre-approved" letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope. Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It costs them MORE than the regular 41 cents postage "IF" and when they receive them back. It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around 50+ cents before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in these cool little, postage-paid return envelopes.



Send an ad coupon for your local car dealer to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them their blank application back! If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you send them. You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! It still costs them 41 cents. Or stuff the envelope with old paper. The more it weighs the more theyt pay.



The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to OVERWHELM them. Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're paying for it...Twice!



If enough people follow these tips, it will work. If 1 million people sent back one envelope a week that costs the junk mail industry about $25 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR!! They ain't gonna like that.

[larry278]

Great idea. How about having USPS change its regulations to allow postal patrons/addresse's to return all mail, not just 1st class mail, to the sender by inscribing, REFUSED, RETURN TO SENDER, on whatever junk mail & other unsolicited mail USPS delivers to us & raise the rate for junk mail to level of 1st class mail or higher to cover the USPS's labor cost for returning junk mail to the sender. Currently USPS refuses to accept & return reduced rate junk mail to the sender. If & when USPS says that returning refused reduced mail to the sender would increase USPS's labor costs & increase USPS's workload it would be helpful if local merchants pointed out that the USPS is giving the direct marketing firms [mail order houses] an undue advantage over the local merchant who pays local taxes, employs local people & contributes to the local economy. The volume of junk mail sent to consumers aka postal patrons or addressees would decrease if those who send junk mail had to pay 1st class rates. USPS could also raise its rates to senders of junk mail to cover the cost of delivering refused junk mail to the sender(s) of junk mail. If the Direct Marketing Assn, which represent the senders of junk mail, objected to the new costs to the senders of junk mail-it would show that the senders of junk mail aren't willing to pay their fair share to USPS. Raising the postal rates of so called charities, religious groups, other non-profit groups, etc to the 1st class rates would discourage them from sending junk mail too. The volume of junk mail from these groups becomes a deluge of junk mail around Xmas because USPS fails to charge the users & senders of junk mail the 1st class rate.
USPS & those who benefit from reduced costs for postage will give us a hoary list of why the lower rates are essential & are a benefit for society. All of the reasons USPS & senders of junk mail give for reduced postal rates for junk mail are false.

[YellowDogInRedCounty]

Blaming the post office for unwanted bulk mail is like blaming the pediatrician for juvenile delinquents.

First of all, while I HATE this stuff, keep in mind that this is what allows the post office to deliver a letter for 41 cents. Trust me, if it weren't for bulk mail which pays 95% of the post office's expenses, a first class stamp would cost about a buck at least.

That all being said, I tried the link to abacus and it didn't work!

[MNinWI]

Hi-thanks for the tip-have been deluged with catalogs sent to my mother-in-law who is now in a nursing home. I finally got them to stop but now her name has resurfaced but with our address. I tried the email address you gave out but it doesn't work. Help. Thanks.

[OliviaZ]

Hi MNinWI.
Thanks for the comment. Are you sure the email address doesn't work? I just wrote to it again and it worked just find.

Make sure you are writing to
abacusopto­ut@epsilon­.com

let me know how it works out.
Thanks for leaving a comment!
Olivia Zaleski

[YellowDogInRedCounty]

First, you said to go to optout@aba­cus-direct­.com, then you said abacusopto­ut@epsilon­.com but neither address is valid.

[youknow]

Thanks for the info. and please forgive for saying this but ( you sure are good looking )

[lancemc]

Another tip, there is a certain group out there,they cater to the older folks. Their letters are AAR,last letter rhyming with T. Do not ever sign up. Unless you want your junk mail to triple.

[lovesickbilly]

Greendimes.com is fantastic, and no, I don't work for them. I'm a wildly satisfied customer.

[DaisyZimmerly]

All advertising that I receive, I send back using the handy postage paid return envelope. I'm sure they don't mind paying the postage to find out I'm not interested. I've mailed thousands of them the last 10 yrs.

[CarolynGreenWave]

A really easy way to stop your junk mail is the 41pounds service. They contact more than 20 direct mail companies (including the DMA) plus any catalogs you don't want to receive. They are a nonprofit organization, and they also donate more than 1/3 of the fee to the environmental organization you choose -- like Grist, StopGlobal­Warming.or­g, American Forests and Carbonfund.org. It costs $41 for five years (2 cents a day). You can find out more at www.41pounds.org.

[RHR]

Thanks for the recommendations, but understand that they don't always work - - and/or they only work for limited periods of time. I repeat several of the procedures you mention, time and time again.

Also, I have ordered many items online, only to receive the company's catalog by mail anyway.

Worse: My father, a retired physician, actually started to receive MORE magazines to a new address where the distribution companies felt he still maintained a patient waiting room.

It took me 8 hours (seriously) to contact the various subscription services to have this stopped, assuring them that my 88 year old father was never interested in Redbook or Running World. Ever.

These companies, including one called Waiting Room Subscription Services (WRSS) are insidious. My Dad was getting like 10 pounds of mail a day, resulting in needless worry.

Nevertheless, your essay have re-invigorated me to revisit the tactics and reduce my impact wherever possible.

[joandarc]

Also it's very easy to take a stamped return envelope with your name on the solicitation
crossed out with a "remove" notation.

And go to the website of any unwanted catalog to find the opt-out which can be found in the Customer Service or the Privacy section usually,
write in all information on label and submit.