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JUNK MAIL REDUCTION * REUSE *
PACKAGING REDUCTION * AND MORE
Junk Mail Reduction Project
After extensive debate among the several dozen solid waste management professionals who helped establish the NWPC in late 1994, it was decided that the group's first major effort should be a national junk mail reduction project. This was partly based on the observation that local solid waste management agencies receive more complaints and questions about junk mail than about any other waste prevention issue. The NWPC defines junk mail as unwanted advertising mail. A steering committee has directed the project. Major activities of the Junk Mail Reduction Project include:
- Business Junk Mail Reduction Project -- Resources to help businesses reduce the amount of unwanted mail they receive.
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Information clearinghouse. The NWPC has responded to requests for information on direct mail issues from hundreds of agencies, businesses, organizations and individuals. One question many people ask is: What can I do to receive less unwanted mail?
- "Samples to Shelters." Post offices around the nation get stuck with hundreds of thousands of undeliverable product samples and other items, from medicines to razors to children's books. In this project, the NWPC worked closely with the U.S. Postal Service to help ensure that most or all of these items get donated. New Postal Service regulations on this, which the NWPC helped draft, went into effect in October, 2002.
- The NWPC Awards for Most Responsible and Most Wasteful Mailers. After seeking nominations from the public, the NWPC announced the awards in November, 1995. More than 30 articles about the awards appeared in national and regional publications, including the Los Angeles Times and Christian Science Monitor. We followed up the awards with an extensive mailer outreach campaign, contacting more than 40 mailers who received negative nominations and offering our help in making their mailings less wasteful. We no longer list the winners (and losers) of the awards on our website, because they are no longer current. If you would like more information on the awards, contact the Coalition.
For more information on the Junk Mail Reduction Project, contact:
Tom Watson, Coordinator
National Waste Prevention Coalition
c/o King County Solid Waste Division
201 South Jackson St., #701
Seattle, Washington, 98104-3855
phone (206) 296-4481
e-mail: tom.watson@kingcounty.gov
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