Great news for the movement to take back our mailboxes: Today the Seattle City Council approved a resolution (8 to 1) calling for a Do Not Mail registry in the state of Washington! Much like the national Do Not Call registry, a Do Not Mail registry would allow consumers a free, effective way to opt out of any direct mailings that they don’t want.
San Francisco passed a similar resolution last year, and now with two major cities calling for Do Not Mail registries, it is more clear than ever that people want the choice to stop receiving unwanted junk mail. This is hardly surprising, since our mailboxes are filled to the brim with unwanted mail. (On average, each U.S. adult resident receives 41 pounds of direct mail every year.)
The Seattle resolution goes further than just calling for an eventual state-wide registry, it also directs the Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) to evaluate the current mail opt-out services available and recommend the most effective one to the City Council. This way, the SPU can see which companies actually remove consumers from their lists, bringing us closer to solutions that local cities everywhere can adopt.
Thanks to all the city council members who voted for the change Seattle wants, our Seattle supporters who took on volunteer shifts to get out the word about the council vote, and to all the Seattlites who made phone calls, sent messages, and testified in support of the resolution!
Read our press release to find out more >>
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by ForestEthics: #Seattle just passed a resolution calling for a state Do Not Mail Registry! Congrats to everyone who volunteered: http://bit.ly/4tzXM2...
This is so stupid! Do you people think beyond your own personal inconveniences? The post office is already laying off a lot of employees. The post office makes the most money off of junk mail and now that it’s banned, you can expect to see more layoffs all because you people don’t know how to recycle! Great job geniuses!
Hey Rocky,
We might as well employ those people to start digging holes and filling them back in again for all the economic benefit we get from junk mail. And we wouldn’t have to kill as many trees for paper, or pollute the environment with the toxic colored inks they use to print glossy full-color ads in junk mail.
Yes, some postal workers might have to find new jobs. Hopefully they will be jobs that actually benefit other people.
You’re welcome to keep getting junk in your mailbox if you like.
I don’t like.
rocky says just kill me
We have no more obligation to keep postal workers employed to deliver junk mail than we do to keep sex workers employed or cigarette manufacturers in business.
The USPS Form PS1500 is a *very* effective way to stop individual junk mailers dead in their tracks. Of the dozens I’ve filed to date, only one, a major telecommunication entity, has violated the prohibitory order issued by the USPS on my behalf — and that entity violated the phohibitory order only once. The threat of a federal court appearance cooled their junk mail jets.
Way to go Hazel! I’ve been using POs over 20 years & they *do* work. I get at most one junk mailpiece per quarter & I mail an app to prohibit the sender the same day the letter carrier leaves the dung in my mailbox. Like you, my only problem has been “major telecommunication entity” — AT&T to be specific. My only recourse is to waste their time like they waste mine. You can read my earlier post about POs at http://www.donotmail.org/article.php?id=251 for details.
While it’s true we have no responsibility to continue employing postal workers (or any others for that matter) it’s true that postal service as we know it will cease if junk mail is abolished or prohibited. The USPS simply will not be able to continue as a going concern. Oh well, so be it.
Besides greeting cards, I mailed only five letters last year. ergo, if curtailment or the end of junk mail cockraoches & their litter means I can no longer send those cards via the USPS, c’est la vie. We’ll all get by somehow.
As stated in the post referenced above, I have several PO tips & tricks to share with anyone who’s wiling to invest the time to *really* stop the garbage disgorged into their mailboxes by the junk mail industry’s inconsiderate maggots. Write me at bluhfurble –at– yahoo –dot– com.
Best,
Dilly
Hazel thank you!
Successfully stopped junk mail for 8 months now. It took me about an hour. This is the best source “do it yourself” I found so far. Let me know if there is a better one. But I do not have any mail at all, only equity line and couple of other bills. No solicitations. Hurray!!!
http://www.awakeningblog.com/stop-junk-mail.html
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