do not mail registry

Nobody wants junk mail, do they? According to ForestEthics, a recent Zogby poll found that nearly 90% of respondents supported the creation of a Do Not Mail Registry to make it easier to opt out of unsolicited mail.

ForestEthics recently launched a national Do Not Mail Campaign to give Americans the choice to stop receiving unwanted and wasteful junk mail. It is similar in concept to the Do Not Call list. And who doesn't love that? We all know junk mail is wasteful and a pain. ForestEthics also tells us how junk mail contributes to climate change.

This Halloween, ForestEthics supporters around the country will be trick-or-treating and talking to their neighbors about the environmental impacts of junk mail and how, together, a national solution is well within reach. You can join this family and neighborhood-friendly event by going trick-or-treating or collecting petition signatures and informing parents who come to your house this Halloween.

Just sign the simple petition on their website and then you can download the Do Not Mail Bag of Tricks. Inside the Bag of Tricks, you'll find:

• A step-by-step guide to Trick-or-Treating for a national Do Not Mail Registry to stop junk mail.
• A sample media advisory to generate press coverage of your local Halloween event.
• Costume ideas for you or your kids!
• Stencil designs for carving Do Not Mail jack-o-lanterns!

Here are some compelling facts why I am considering dressing up like a junk mail monster and heading out with my petition:

MYTH: The paper industry is replanting trees, so what’s the problem?
FACT: Replanting trees is not the same as preserving forests. The paper industry is creating tree plantations—row after row of largely non-native (and sometimes genetically engineered) trees. Plantations don’t store nearly as much carbon as intact forests. And in 25-40 years, what little
carbon is stored will be released again when the trees are cut down to make more junk mail.

MYTH: Everyone’s recycling their junk mail anyway.
FACT: 34% of all Americans—about 100 million people—don’t even have access to curbside recycling. So it’s no surprise that approximately 44% of junk mail goes to landfills unopened.

MYTH: “Direct mail is not trees, it is printed communication.” (from the Mail Moves America website)
FACT: This one comes straight from the junk mail industry’s coalition, Mail Moves America, and frankly, we’re not sure what it means. But since it takes more than 100 million trees to produce U.S. junk mail, we’re pretty sure it’s a lie.