Council backs campaign to reduce unwanted mail
Tuesday, October 23 2007
Scottish Borders Council is backing a campaign to reduce the amount of unwanted mail householders receive.
Over a third of direct mail is currently discarded unopened according to the Direct Mail Information Service.
The aim of the Unwanted Mail campaign is to raise awareness of the impact of this unwanted mail on the environment and help householders take action to reduce unwanted mail.
In the spirit of the campaign, SBC is using electronic, rather than paper, methods to highlight five quick and effective steps that people can take to reduce the amount of unwanted mail that they receive.
Council employees have already received the information by email and the Recycling Team are passing on the message to their key partner agencies – also by email.
The five steps highlighted in the nationwide campaign co-ordinated by the Scottish Waste Awareness Group (SWAG) are:
- Write to sender
- Register with the Mailing Preference Service
- Register to opt out of the Royal Mail's Door to Door service
- Opt out of the edited version of the electoral register
- Use online services
Julie Rankine, SBC Waste Strategy Manager, said: “This is a good way to start minimising your waste. It means you have less paper to deal with in the first place.
“Reducing the amount of unwanted mail delivered to Scottish householders is also a key action of the Scottish Government’s Household Waste Prevention Action Plan. The goal is to reduce unwanted mail by 10 per cent by 2010.”
There is also an Unwanted Mail website www.wasteawareunwantedmail.org.uk with direct links to the relevant organisations and template letters to help householders follow the five steps. The website also offers consumers advice on data protection and their rights regarding direct marketing.
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