• Destroys a tree and a half per person.
• Creates 4 million tons of unnecessary waste.
• Fills 3% of American landfills.
• Steals $320 million in American tax dollars for disposal fees.
• Uses 28 billion gallons of water for paper processing.
• Most junk mailers use inks with high concentrations of heavy metals like Zinc and Magnesium in addition to high gloss U.V. varnishes.  These substances have half lives of millions of years.
• 44% of all junk mail is thrown in the trash, unopened and unread.

1. Remove your name from existing mailing lists.
2. Prevent your name from getting on new lists.

IF YOU DO ONLY ONE THING, THIS IS IT!

If your goal is to reduce junk mail as much as possible, there is one list that you do want to be on.  The "Delete List" which is distributed to businesses four times a year, lists consumers who want to be removed from mailing lists.  To get on this list, simply mail your request, including all variations of your name and address and the names of all other members of your household to:

Mail Preference Service
Direct Mail Association
PO Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY  11735

It may take a few months to see results.  you will need to re-contact the service every five years to ensure that your name is kept on the "Delete List."

You can also contact some of the larger mailing list brokers who make a business of buying, selling, and renting lists.  To have your name and address removed from their lists, contact:

• Database America; Compilation Department/Donnelly Marketing, Inc.; Database Operations; 470 Chestnut Ridge Road Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677
• Experian; List Maintenance; 901 West Bond; Lincoln, NE  68521; 1-800-228-4571
• R.L. Polk & Co; Name Deletion File; List Compilation and Development; 6400 Monroe Blvd. Taylor, MI  48180-1814; 1-800-873-7655

• Whenever you make a credit card purchase, fill out a warranty form, or even submit a change of address card, your name and address could be added to another mailing list.  Be Aware!
• Credit Cards - One strategy is to contact "Card Member Services" for each of your existing credit cards to request that they not sell or trade your name and address.
• Credit Bureaus - In addition to tracking your credit history, credit bureaus also sell names and addresses to banks and credit card companies.  To be removed from their mailing lists, contact:

  TRW Target Marketing Services; PO Box 2160, Allen, TX  75013; 1-800-353-0809
  Trans-Union Corp; 555 West Adams Street, Chicago, IL  60661; 1-312-466-7815
  Equifax Options; Equifax Marketing Decisions Systems, Inc. PO Box 7400241; Atlanta, GA  30374; 1-404-885-8000

• Change of address cards - To have your name and new address removed from the National Change of address system, which leases your name to mailing list brokers contact:
  
  National Customer Support Center; NCOA Department; 6060 Primacy Parkway, Suite 101; Memphis, TN  38188; 1-800-238-3150
  
• Warranty Cards - To remove your name from lists compiled from warranty cards contact:
  
  National Demographics and Lifestyles; List Order Services; 1621 18th Street, Suite #300, Denver, CO  80202; 1-800-525-3533
  
  
• What if junk mail gets delivered anyway?  You have two options.
  1. Send it back.  Include the message, "remove from mailing list!  Do not sell or trade name or address."
  2. Call the sender.  Look on the junk mail item for a phone number.