JUNK MAIL REDUCTION * REUSE *
PACKAGING REDUCTION * AND MORE

"Samples to Shelters" Project

The National Waste Prevention Coalition played a major role in developing new U.S. Postal Service regulations that went into effect October 31, 2002, making it easier for post offices to donate undelivered product samples and other undelivered mail to food banks and homeless shelters.

The Coalition worked closely with the Postal Service on this issue - writing the first draft of the proposed regulations, soliciting input from around the country, and working directly with top Postal Service environmental officials to help move the regulations through a long process.

The Postal Service has estimated that U.S. post offices get stuck with a total of up to 164,000 tons of undelivered product samples every year. The new regulations will make it much easier for these product samples and other undelivered items - food, toothpaste, shampoo, diapers, headache remedies, razors, children's books, and many other items - to be distributed to people who need them.

The new regulations also make it much easier for post offices to donate undelivered magazines to homeless shelters, schools, hospitals and other non-profits or institutions. And for the first time, the regulations specify that if post offices are unable to donate all their undelivered magazines, they should recycle them, if recycling is cost-effective. Previously, many of these magazines have been thrown away.

Two other national groups, the Reuse Development Organization and America's Second Harvest, are helping to inform food banks, homeless shelters and other eligible non-profits around the country about the changes. The new regulations are online in the "Domestic Mail" section of the Oct. 31, 2002 Postal Bulletin.

As another component of this project, the Coalition encourages companies to take measures (working with the Postal Service) to reduce the number of undelivered product samples, through "mailing list hygiene" for example. This fits with the Coalition's overall mission to reduce waste before it is generated. Even with these measures, there will of course always be undelivered samples and other items that need to be donated.

For more information, 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

Updated December 3, 2002