Junk mail happens like this:
100,000,000 million mature trees get cut down
Every year
So paper can be produced
So stuff you're not interested in
(or could just as easily shop for online)
Can get printed on it
Before getting transported to our homes
Using fossil fuel
To immediately get tossed.
(Or clutter up our counters.)
But what if you just recycle it?
I mean, sure, but:
You will spend an estimated 8 months of your life sifting and sorting unwanted mail
For it to be picked up by a truck
Using fossil fuel
And get delivered to a facility
That sorts and mashes it
To make recycled paper
So stuff you're not interested in
(or could just as easily shop for online)
Can get printed on it
And then transported back to our homes
Using fossil fuel
To immediately get tossed.
(Or clutter up our counters.)
Y’all. Make it stop. Full stop.
There are several FREE services you can use to stop the insanity. (Why yes, that was a Susan Powter quote. Holla’!) I use https://www.catalogchoice.org/ simply because it’s the one I know. Some companies aren't in the its database, and getting off those lists takes a few extra clicks. Go directly to the company's website and click "contact us" and send an email requesting to be taken off the company's mailing list. I recommend including this language in your email: "Please remove me from your postal mailings list. I no longer wish to receive your mailings. Do not rent or sell my name or address to other organizations." (I learned this on the catalogchoice.org website.)
To stop the deluge of credit card and insurance offers, go to https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ and follow the prompts. This service blocks access to your credit history from the four major consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and TransUnion. These are the guys who determine how likely you are to repay debt. Lenders then use this information to market credit card preapprovals or "firm offers" to you. FYI: OptOutPrescreen requires your social security number for identification purposes. The service is secure and approved for use by the FTC.
So yeah. It's not enough to recycle junk mail. And we haven’t even talked about deforestation. We need mature trees for the air we breathe, and we rely on them for shade and fruit, beauty and calm. And also, rather critically, the absorption of carbon dioxide.
At the risk of being a little preachy, I say this: the only way to stop global warming is to stop burning fossil fuels. The next best thing we can do is to plant trees – and we should – but it will take decades for trees we plant now to mature enough to mitigate or remove carbon effectively. The easiest thing we can do is opt out of receiving detritus in the mail. Because BOOM just like THAT we’ve saved 100,000,000 perfectly good, mature, carbon-devouring trees from becoming junk mail. So simple! So impactful! #TheMoreYouKnow