Yellow Pages Opt-Out for Citizens of Palo Alto
- by: Jonathan Sheffield, Sassan Golafshan, EndFossilFuel.com
- recipient: Palo Alto City Council
There is currently no choice for citizens of Palo Alto, California, regarding the delivery of Yellow Pages, Yellow Book, or any other commercial/advertising phone directory to their homes or apartments. Most citizens receive several Yellow Page directories each year, each containing more than 5 pounds of paper and ink - and no option to stop delivery. With the advent of internet-based phone directories, mobile phones with access to Google's free search database via SMS and even 411, the Yellow Pages are becoming irrelevant.
However, the energy and resource consumption, waste and overall impact to our environment from these commercial directories should not be ignored. Based on year 2000 census data showing 58,598 residents of PA, and the fact that there are approximately 2 directories printed for each US citizen annually, the impact for Palo Alto's yellow page supply PER YEAR is:
- 4,453 trees
- 375,040 pounds of waste paper
- 1,688 barrels of oil (not including delivery drivers)
- 62.8 cubic yards of landfill space
(source: yellowpagesgoesgreen.org)
There is no clear method to stopping delivery of Yellow Pages to a citizen's dwelling. We at EndFossilFuel.com feel that an Opt-Out policy should be implemented in Palo Alto, as well as nation wide, to make the delivery of these wasteful entities completely optional to citizens. We are confident that Palo Alto can reduce its waste, resource consumption and general clutter by introducing Opt-Out legislation for Yellow Pages/Yellow Book.
Current measures are under consideration in North Carolina, Minnesota, Maine, New York, Norway and Boston - all with similar goals. Palo Alto has an even clearer path in that there is no local ordinance which calls for mandatory delivery of any phone book.
This petition is only open to citizens of Palo Alto, California, but all are encouraged to copy the content of this petition and start your own local movement against Yellow Pages.
However, the energy and resource consumption, waste and overall impact to our environment from these commercial directories should not be ignored. Based on year 2000 census data showing 58,598 residents of PA, and the fact that there are approximately 2 directories printed for each US citizen annually, the impact for Palo Alto's yellow page supply PER YEAR is:
- 4,453 trees
- 375,040 pounds of waste paper
- 1,688 barrels of oil (not including delivery drivers)
- 62.8 cubic yards of landfill space
(source: yellowpagesgoesgreen.org)
There is no clear method to stopping delivery of Yellow Pages to a citizen's dwelling. We at EndFossilFuel.com feel that an Opt-Out policy should be implemented in Palo Alto, as well as nation wide, to make the delivery of these wasteful entities completely optional to citizens. We are confident that Palo Alto can reduce its waste, resource consumption and general clutter by introducing Opt-Out legislation for Yellow Pages/Yellow Book.
Current measures are under consideration in North Carolina, Minnesota, Maine, New York, Norway and Boston - all with similar goals. Palo Alto has an even clearer path in that there is no local ordinance which calls for mandatory delivery of any phone book.
This petition is only open to citizens of Palo Alto, California, but all are encouraged to copy the content of this petition and start your own local movement against Yellow Pages.
We the undersigned citizens of Palo Alto, California, request that a Yellow Pages 'Opt-Out' policy be legislated by the Palo Alto City Council. We feel that the use of hard copy, Yellow Page-type commercial phone directories has become significantly reduced due to internet access, mobile phone interfaces and other low-impact informational services. Citizens should have the option to take, or not take, delivery of these large books.
The resources consumed and waste produced by Yellow Page-type directories each year is staggering. Based on national data, which shows that two Yellow Page-type directories are printed for each citizen, the 58,000 residents of Palo Alto will receive phone books in 2008 that consume:
- 4,453 trees
- 375,040 pounds of waste paper
- 1,688 barrels of oil (not including delivery drivers)
- 62.8 cubic yards of landfill space
(source: yellowpagesgoesgreen.org)
With an option to not take delivery of Yellow Page-type directories, often several times per year, we feel that Palo Alto will enjoy reduced landfill space, less clutter and a positive impact on both the local and global environment.
Thank you for taking the time to consider our request.
Sign PetitionSign PetitionThe resources consumed and waste produced by Yellow Page-type directories each year is staggering. Based on national data, which shows that two Yellow Page-type directories are printed for each citizen, the 58,000 residents of Palo Alto will receive phone books in 2008 that consume:
- 4,453 trees
- 375,040 pounds of waste paper
- 1,688 barrels of oil (not including delivery drivers)
- 62.8 cubic yards of landfill space
(source: yellowpagesgoesgreen.org)
With an option to not take delivery of Yellow Page-type directories, often several times per year, we feel that Palo Alto will enjoy reduced landfill space, less clutter and a positive impact on both the local and global environment.
Thank you for taking the time to consider our request.
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