It happens every year, much like a swarm of locusts have deposited a vast wasteland of paper upon the earth. I am referring to the millions of telephone books that litter our mailboxes and entryways. Sometime during the day a hoard of people who are hired by the telephone companies deliver these unsightly, heavy, and useless books to us whether we need them or not. Then they scurry along to propagate one of the largest wastes of paper and money to other folks who have not asked for them or even want them. It is just something to have to throw away. And that is the problem. Where do these orphan tyrants go? Some do get recycled, but many will go to landfills where they will decompose over time; but, there will be another next year!
I did some research to discover how many people still have the need for a “book of telephone numbers”. It is difficult to find out how many are really needed but the number (pardon the pun) is small. Despite the fact that telephone numbers are available on the web via PC or mobile device, even the people who still have rotary phones have directory assistance for free, (411). And, if someone does not have a telephone, they don’t need a book! The answer seems to be a system where we could opt-in to getting these abominations. The only way to get a book is to ask for one. We could save trees, disposal, and aggravation in the process. The following is from a website that proposes just such a strategy:
“Did you know that an estimated 5 million trees are cut down each year to create white pages phone books and that according to a recent survey conducted with Harris Interactive, only 22% of recipients recycle when disposing of them, which explains why approximately 165,000 tons of waste end up in landfills?* In addition, our own survey shows that 75% of consumers are completely unaware of the environmental and financial impact in printing, delivering and recycling these books. Given that you likely use online directories, social networks and mobile phone applications to find the contact information you need, it simply does not make sense to have the white pages phone books forcefully delivered to us every year”. This should get our attention!
The website, BanThePhoneBook.org has a petition that can be signed to use an opt-in system of delivery found here. The trend? Much like the post office that uses a business model that refuse to believe that email will replace letters, the phone company believes that this is a valuable service. And, I won’t even mention the yellow pages vs. Angie's list…
I did some research to discover how many people still have the need for a “book of telephone numbers”. It is difficult to find out how many are really needed but the number (pardon the pun) is small. Despite the fact that telephone numbers are available on the web via PC or mobile device, even the people who still have rotary phones have directory assistance for free, (411). And, if someone does not have a telephone, they don’t need a book! The answer seems to be a system where we could opt-in to getting these abominations. The only way to get a book is to ask for one. We could save trees, disposal, and aggravation in the process. The following is from a website that proposes just such a strategy:
“Did you know that an estimated 5 million trees are cut down each year to create white pages phone books and that according to a recent survey conducted with Harris Interactive, only 22% of recipients recycle when disposing of them, which explains why approximately 165,000 tons of waste end up in landfills?* In addition, our own survey shows that 75% of consumers are completely unaware of the environmental and financial impact in printing, delivering and recycling these books. Given that you likely use online directories, social networks and mobile phone applications to find the contact information you need, it simply does not make sense to have the white pages phone books forcefully delivered to us every year”. This should get our attention!
The website, BanThePhoneBook.org has a petition that can be signed to use an opt-in system of delivery found here. The trend? Much like the post office that uses a business model that refuse to believe that email will replace letters, the phone company believes that this is a valuable service. And, I won’t even mention the yellow pages vs. Angie's list…
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