Stop the Onslaught of Junk Mail
- by: ForestEthics Advocacy
- recipient: US Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid; Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi
Five years after the national
Do Not Call Registry became the most popular
consumer rights bill in history, citizens still face a different form of
harassment: junk mail. Every year, Americans receive about 105 billion
pieces of junk mail like credit card offers, coupons, and catalogs -- that's
848 pieces of junk mail per household. Even though 44% of that mail goes to
the landfill unopened, we still spend eight months of our lives opening
the rest.
Junk mail is more than just an annoyance; it's an environmental crisis. Every
year, junk mail production destroys 100 million trees, creating as
much global warming
pollution as 3.7 million cars.
We deserve the right to protect our privacy and our time. We deserve clean
air and forest protection. We, the undersigned, support the creation of a
national Do Not Mail Registry to provide a simple and comprehensive way for
us to say no to junk mail.
Junk mail destroys our forests, natural resources and environment. It contributes to global warming and wastes our time and money. A Do Not Mail Registry would empower us to stop junk mail from invading our homes and mailboxes, and help protect our environment.
In 2003, Congress created the national Do Not Call Registry�the most popular consumer rights bill in history. Today, people are waiting for a companion registry that will end the onslaught of junk mail.
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Junk Mail Overflows Our Mailboxes - Every year American households receive a total of 104.7 billion pieces of junk mail or 848 pieces of junk mail per household, which requires 6.5 million tons of paper. Approximately 44% of junk mail goes to a landfill unopened, yet Americans still spend 8 months per lifetime opening junk mail.
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Junk Mail Contributes to Climate Change - It takes more than 100 million trees to produce the total volume of junk mail that arrives in American mailboxes each year -- that's the equivalent of deforesting the entire Rocky Mountain National Park every 4 months. The greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the manufacturing of 6.5 million tons of paper is equal to the greenhouse gas emissions of 3.7 million cars.
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People Really Want a Do Not Mail Registry - In a September 2007 national poll by Zogby International poll, 93% of respondents were aware of the Do Not Call Registry and 89% of them supported a Do Not Mail Registry to make it easier to opt out of unsolicited ad mail. In fact, since 1991, polls have shown that between 80 and 90% of respondents dislike junk mail and would take some action to reduce it if given the opportunity.
