Goals: To discuss steps to prevent and to reduce the amount of unwanted junk mail in your mailbox Based on FRM publications: 1. Junk Your Junk Mail, Guide G-107 http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_g/G107/welcome.html 2. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Alternatives for Waste Management, Guide G-314 http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_g/G314/welcome.html

1. Junk Your Junk Mail
Fahzy Abdul-Rahman
Family Resource Management (FRM) Specialist
2014 Extension In-Service
January 6, 2014

2. 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)

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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.

6. So, ideally …
…. sorry folks, I am not the Clothing Specialist

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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.

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

14. 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/

15. Junk Your Junk Mail
Fahzy Abdul-Rahman
Family Resource Management (FRM) Specialist
2014 Extension In-Service
January 6, 2014