Startling Truth About Junk Mail and How It Affects Our Planet

FACT: Americans receive enough daily junk mail to produce enough energy to heat 250,000 homes for a day.

The Internet age of technology might make you think about junk email, when referring to 'junk mail'. Both postal junk mail and junk email fit the criteria of 'junk', and both mail boxes overflow with this unwanted marketing material. Nevertheless, only one of these mail forms is detrimental to the environment.

There's a junk-mail-opt-out feature for both postal and junk email. Conversely, those procedures may work and they may not.

Differences between the two mail systems couldn't be more stark, in terms of their worst effect on the individual and/or the environment.



Junk email is merely a nuisance. It constantly fills up your inbox, you empty it and the cycle begins again. But no adverse affect on the environment.

Postal junk mail, on the other hand, is totally opposite, with its worst effect being on the trees of our planet. We'll look at some pinpointed statistics, with numbers that give us more understanding of the severity.

Junk Mail

Unwanted mail is more than a nuisance. The amount of junk mail households receive classifies this as an environmental hazard.

You probably have the equivalent of one and a half trees in the batch of junk mail you receive in a year. The same is true for each of your neighbors and co-workers, their neighbors and co-workers and so forth.

The junk-mail factor:

• Americans receive about 4 million tons of junk mail yearly.
• About 44% of that mail is thrown away unopened.
• The average American spends 8 months of their lifespan opening junk mail.
• 1.5 million trees would survive every year, if 1 million people stopped receiving junk mail

~ Stop unwanted junk mail

Practical steps to control your junk mail: 

1. Recycle. Recycle. Recycle. - Check local recycle centers. Get their requirements for receiving paper materials, and begin separating your junk mail accordingly. -
2. Write to the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) - The mail-order industry provides a service that allows you to have your name removed from their mailing lists. Names are sent out every 6 months--a long time, but at least you start the process. If they comply, you won't receive junk mail from many companies for up to five years and reduce your junk mail by up to 75%. Write to: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, PO Box 643 Carmel, NY 10512.

The Federal Trade Commission has the best informative site that details how to stop unsolicited mail and emails, as well as phone calls. The site is complete with phone numbers to call, websites to visit to opt out of the major credit reporting agencies--that prevents them from sharing your information.

Our planet loses millions of trees to the useless practice of bombarding homes with unsolicited junk mail. Since junk mail is not going to stop, the planet with continue to suffer tree depletion.

Recycling is the sensible, short-term and more immediate action to deal with the thousands of pieces of junk mail invading your mail box. However, contacting agencies listed on the Federal Trade Commission's website is definitely something to do to achieve long-term junk mail solutions.

General Fact: About 75% of America's glass is used for packaging.