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DoAction 39

Reduce the junk mail you receiveDoers doing this DoAction have pledged to save: 5 kg CO₂

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Maybe there are some people out there who are dying to know about the latest tandoori chicken takeaway offers in their neighbourhood or yet another credit card promo. We don’t know, we don’t want to generalise. But the estimated 2.7 billion pieces of junk mail in the UK¹ which slide through our collective letter boxes are a real nuisance and an eye sore, not to mention taking their toll on Mother Nature too!

Why?

We all know that paper comes from trees, and those leaflets are no exception. They come through our door, often to be thrown straight into the bin. That translates into a lot of graceful 30 year old trees being felled² for no reason at all.

Pollution

Producing and using the ink to make that glossy look on those leaflets coughs out a lot of nasty stuff in order to optimise its performance properties, such as mercury. Not very nice at all to the environment!

Reduce Clutter

Why not spare yourself the daily annoyance of sorting out the junk from your mail and just get the letters that matter? It’s not like you use them to decorate your house or anything.

A ‘no junk mail’ sticker on your letterbox reduces junk mail by

51%^⁴

How?

This is a super-duper easy action!

Register with Mail Preference Service and they will take you off all the direct mail industry databases. Don’t worry, you will still get the mail you want, just no more junk! Just sign up here. (Note it can take about 4 months for it to have its full effect)
If you still get the odd bit of junk mail, make a direct complaint on the MPS website.
Put a ‘No Junk Mail’ sticker on your letterbox to stop the fliers. You can make your own or get one from http://www.stopjunkmail.org.uk/stickers/ or zazzle.co.uk. It might not work 100%, but hey it’s a start.

^1.^{http://www.stopjunkmail.org.uk/facts/volume.php}

^2.^{http://www.forestlearning.edu.au/australian-forests/wood-production-process/harvesting}

^3.^{Paper Ink and Press Chemistry}

^4.^{http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/WRAP_Hackney_case_junk_mail_v2.pdf}