How to Reduce Junk Mail and Save Natural Resources

If you're interested in reducing the amount of junk mail you receive via snail mail, you should know that there are free and inexpensive services available in most countries that can significantly reduce the amount of junk mail you receive.

If you live in Canada, simply post a "No Junk Mail" or "No Ad mail" sign in your mail box - your Canada Post delivery person should honor this request. If, by chance, you continue to receive junk mail, you can follow the instructions found here: RedDotCampaign.ca.

If you live in the United States, you can opt out of a number of junk mailing lists through the following site: DMA's Mail Preference Service List. Another option, made famous by Matt Damon and Oprah, is to use the eco-friendly service provided by GreenDimes.

If you don't mind receiving junk mail, please consider the following reasons why taking measures to reduce junk mail is good for you and the environment:

• Every year, the average household in the United States receives unsolicited junk mail equal to 1.5 trees. Put another way, production of unsolicited junk mail in the United States uses up more than 100 million trees every year.

• Every year, about 5.5 million tons of catalogs and other direct mail advertisements end up in United States landfills.

• About 44 percent of junk mail is thrown away unopened, and only about half of this junk mail is recycled.

• Every year, Americans pay about $370 million to get rid of junk mail that doesn't get recycled.

Here's the bottom line: Unsolicited junk mail causes wasteful depletion of trees, fossil fuels, electricity, water, and your time. If you haven't already done so, please help reduce the amount of junk mail that is generated by refusing to accept it.

Please note: If you live outside the United States and Canada, and know of a service in your country that is similar to GreenDimes.com and RedDotCampaign.ca, please consider sharing this information in the comments section below. Thank you.