Junk Your Junk Mail

Junk Your Junk Mail

Fahzy Abdul-RahmanFamily Resource Management (FRM) Specialist

2014 Extension In-ServiceJanuary 6, 2014

Introduction

• Goals: To discuss steps to prevent and to reduce the amount of unwanted junk mail in your mailbox

• Based on FRM publications:– Junk Your Junk Mail, Guide G-107– Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Alternatives for Waste

Management, Guide G-314 (in print)

Mere Recycling

• Environmental friendly, green movement– Mere recycle?

• “Recycle”: A buzzword for an environmentally friendly way to manage waste

• Each year we use: • 25 billion plastic containers • 30 billion bottles & jars • 65 billion aluminum cans • 100 billion pounds of paper

Reduce-Reuse-Recycle (Pub. G-314)• REDUCE

– Buy only what you need because a better way to reduce waste is by not creating it

– If we never generate products in the first place, we do not have to extract raw resources, manufacture goods from scratch, come up with shipping materials, and then devise ways to dispose of them.

– 1/3 of all garbage is packaging.

• REUSE – If you have to acquire goods, try

getting used ones or obtaining substitutes.

– Many things can be reused before you throw them out.

– E.g. Put leftovers in resealable containers instead of using wraps and foil , use old clothes as rags for cleaning, and have a garage sale or donate clothes, books or toys that you don't use anymore

• RECYCLE– When discarding your waste, find

possible ways to recycle it instead of letting it go to landfill

Introduction: Junk Your Junkmail

• In her book Living Green, Nancy Conner (2009) points out that companies mail out more than 100 billion pieces of junk mail every year using paper from – 100 million trees, – 28 billion gallons of water, and – enough energy to produce more than 9 million

cars.

So, ideally …

…. sorry folks, I am not the Clothing Specialist

STEP 1: Prevent Junk Mails

• Choosing to be unlisted in phone directories• Avoiding sweepstakes or contests that require

your personal information on the forms, • Not submitting product warranty information

via mail or online [?] • Asking organizations that you deal with (e.g.,

for business, volunteering, affiliation, and donation purposes) to not share your information with other parties

When was the last time you used a phonebook?

• The white pages alone cost 5 million trees a year. They generated 650,000 tons of waste in 2009 (EPA, 2010). You can opt out of phone book delivery by registering your address at sites like www.yellowpagesoptout.com.

• Vs. Online directory & search– Outdated when printed, reviews,

ratings, faster search

STEP 2: Stop Unwanted Mail• DMAchoice: Signing up with DMAchoice places you on a

“delete” list from many national companies for five years. To register with DMA's Mail Preference Service, go to www.dmachoice.org or mail your request with a $1 processing fee to:– DMAchoice, Direct Marketing Association (DMA), P.O. Box 643,

Carmel, NY 10512– Deceased: www.DMAchoice.org also provides the option to place

a deceased person on the Deceased Do Not Contact List• Prescreened offers of credit and insurance: You may opt out

of getting any of these offers for five years or permanently by calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) or going to www.optoutprescreen.com

STEP 2: Stop Unwanted Mail

• Catalogs: You can request to not receive catalogs, phone books, directories, and other junk mail via www.catalogchoice.org – You may need to enter “Account or Customer

Number” and/or “Key or Source Code” to ensure or speed up the cancellation process.

– These numbers are usually printed around your address on the mailed materials.

• Yellow Pages Opt-Out: www.catalogchoice.org

Note

• If you decide to write, sample letters and postcards are available in Pub. G107

• Taking these measures may not solve all of your junk mail problems – Not all businesses do belong to DMAchoice, and – Local organizations may not receive notice to take

your name off of their lists.

App• PaperKarma: This mobile app stops junk mail• Info needed: your address and email• Free for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone 7• Snap Pictures

Other Issues• Opting to get bills, pay bills, and obtain statements online

– … or automatize from bank.• E-mail: Junk folder, unsubscribe – talk to your IT

personnel• National Do Not Call Registry• Robocall: This refers to recorded phone messages that

may require you to press numbers. The simplest thing to do is to hang up. – You may report robocalls to the Federal Trade Commission

online (www.ftc.gov/complaint) or over the phone (1-888-382-1222).

– http://www.nomorobo.com/

Junk Your Junk Mail

Fahzy Abdul-RahmanFamily Resource Management (FRM) Specialist

2014 Extension In-ServiceJanuary 6, 2014