San Francisco Passes First ‘Do Not Mail’ Resolution in Nation
City Calls On California To Give Citizens Choice Over Junk Mail
SAN FRANCISCO, March 31 — The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today passed a resolution calling on California to create a Do Not Mail Registry giving its citizens the choice to stop receiving unwanted junk mail.
Though non-binding, the resolution represents the first time American lawmakers have withstood pressure from the direct mail industry and the U.S. Postal Service to side with the majority of Americans.
Sponsored by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, the board approved the resolution by a 9-2 vote.
“Until now, junk mailers have stifled all efforts to give Americans what they want: an enforceable, comprehensive solution to junk mail’s waste and annoyance” said ForestEthics Executive Director Todd Paglia. “San Francisco is the first city in the United States to take political action against junk
mail, marking the beginning of a long-awaited government intervention to protect citizens from relentless and predatory junk mailers.”
Bills calling for Do Not Mail Registries have failed in more than 20 states, despite widespread frustration with junk mail. A 2007 Zogby poll revealed that 89% of Americans support the creation of a national registry.
“Reducing junk mail is in keeping with our nation’s efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and lead more sustainable lifestyles,” said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, upon passage of his Do Not Mail Resolution. “Just as Do Not Call overcame industry opposition to become the most popular consumer rights bill in history, I hope that this resolution will empower our representatives on the state and federal level to represent their constituents on this issue.”
Supervisor Mirkarimi has a record of trailblazing leadership on a variety of issues and policies, including the nation’s first municipal ban on plastic bags, and commuter benefits requirements for San Francisco businesses.
More than 93,000 Americans have signed ForestEthics’ petition at donotmail.org calling for the creation of a national Do Not Mail Registry.
Every year 100 million trees are logged to produce the 100 billion pieces of junk mail Americans receive. Junk mail’s production generates the carbon emissions of over 9 million cars. U.S. junk mail accounts for 30% of all the mail delivered in the world, though 44% of it goes to landfills unopened.
Visit donotmail.org for more information.
SOURCE ForestEthics
William Craven of ForestEthics, +1-415-407-3426
April 1st, 2009 09:26
Should we stop printing books because they create a large carbon footprint?
April 1st, 2009 11:05
THE POSTAL SERVICE IS A REFLECTION OF THE ECONOMY , RIGHT NOW WERE IN A “DEPRESSION” ! SO THE MAIL VOLUME IS GOING TO GO WAY WAY DOWN ! SOON ( I HOPE ) WE WILL NOT BE IN A “DEPRESSION” , AND MAIL VOLUME WILL BE WAY UP , WHEN TIMES ARE GOOD, WE DO GOOD , WHEN TIMES ARE BAD, WE DO BAD, AND WHEN TIMES ARE REALLY REALLY BAD , LIKE NOW ! WE DO REALLY REALLY BAD , THE GOOD TIMES WILL BE BACK ! WHEN THE GOOD ECONOMY IS BACK ! WAS THAT SIMPLE ENUFF FOR YOU ? IT REALLY IS THAT SIMPLE ! THE SKY IS NOT FALLING ! THE ECONOMY IS ! THE LAST TIME WE HAD THESE “HISTORICALLY LOW MAIL VOLUMES ” WAS DURING THE “GREAT DEPRESSION” ! AND I THINK THE MAIL VOLUME CAME BACKAFTER THE “GREAT DERESSION ” WAS OVER ,AND UP TILL NOW , 80 YRS OF POSTAL PROSPERITY HAVE RAINED DOWN ON US ALL , WHEN THE “GREAT DEPRESION” IS FINALLY OVER …. WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER 80 YRS OF POSTAL PROSPERITY !!!
IT IS REALLY THAT SIMPLE ! SOOOOO RELAX !!!
April 1st, 2009 12:02
This is great news. Consumers should have the freedom to easily choose whether they want to receive junk mail or not. Hopefully other government bodies will continue to push this and eventually make it a reality.
April 1st, 2009 13:40
then after that maybe we can pass a bill to outlaw popup ads online while not being bothered and benefiting freely from the hard work of others, hopefully soon after that we could get a bill passed that would allow us to ban all the things that we do not want to look at or rest our eyes upon daily.
billboards, hand bills, beer coasters, homeless people, closet activist postings on the internet… oops. not that. what would we care bout daily.
some people dont even have computer or internet access. good thing you “forward thinkers” can speak for them too.
god bless the ideals of the united states of america and all those who will distort them until they fit into something that theycan hide behind and complain.
April 1st, 2009 14:33
what would you expexct form an azbakwerdz place like san fran ? this will not happen …. they Just like to amuse themselves with the utter crazy non sensible nonsense they can come up with …
RELAX !!!
April 1st, 2009 15:26
San Francisco Passes First ‘Do Not Mail’ Resolution in Nation…
"The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today passed a resolution calling on California to create a Do Not Mail Registry giving its citizens the choice to stop receiving unwanted junk mail."…
April 1st, 2009 15:29
[...] via postalnews blog » Blog Archive » San Francisco Passes First ‘Do Not Mail’ Resolution in Nation. [...]
April 1st, 2009 16:10
Right on Derek, just another sign that people think they need to have the government hold their hand. Also the 100 million tree statement is totaly false. At that rate humans would now live in a clear-cut wasteland. Most companies have ads printed on re-cycled stock because it’s cheaper and saves resources. If the public would use city and county re-cycling programs, the strain on all resources would diminish. But regular citizens won’t do that unless the government tells them.
April 1st, 2009 18:35
I hope they pass something to get rid of commercials too. I have to pay for cable, and watch advertisement. I don’t pay for mail service so I guess maybe we’ll have to start.
April 1st, 2009 19:41
First the post office is just the end of the chain. To get a true look at how many people this will put our of work. The trees are grown by tree farmers, loggers, truck drivers, papermill employees, warehouse empoyees,truck drivers, printers, ad personnal, all the people in and having to do with the catalog(for example), all the people involved with the items in the catalog on so forth and so on. TALK ABOUT DEPRESSING THE ECONOMY, just let do not mail happen.
April 1st, 2009 20:51
Great idea! Stop junk mail and you will save a few tree’s. But boy is that goind to cost you big time. Just get it open it or just throw it in a recycling bin. Or your stamps are going to cost you about .80 GREAT MOVE. What next? Not to smart.
April 2nd, 2009 09:41
While the ecological impact of paper, deforestation and contamination in processing, is of concern, it is “Junk Mail” that finances the underfunded pseudo public private US Mail service.
Do we really want to have to pay UPS/Fedex rates to deliver documents… The price of a first class letter is still a great bargain… to be delivered house to house across the country. An email is nice but a card to or from grandma is a treasure.
And of course there is Netflix….
April 2nd, 2009 17:06
The “junk mail” is really called advertising, and it is everywhere. That advertising is what pays our bills. It also has the coupon for the Family Size Pizza at a better price, mmmmmmmm. Enjoy your day.
April 4th, 2009 09:26
these people save trees by wasting millios of dollars on non sustainable building materials on houses in the middle of wildfire epicenters. where 1.6 BILLION dollars of taxpayer dollars each year are spent trying to stop a natural and very nessecary natural rejuvination.
so pass your bill while im sure you are packing your bags and moving to Iowa anyway.
make a difference one way or another.
small people= small battles
April 4th, 2009 10:19
This is discouraging news. In these tough economic times, businesses need to do what they have to do to survive. And many rely on Direct Mail advertising to promote their business. If you want to stop this mail from coming, you need to really understand who loses in the long run. Businesses will be forced or wil hesistate to advertise, their business could suffer, loss of revenue and possibly shut down. So when these businesses start closing – the smaller ones who often provide the consumer with great local deals – the consumer is the one who comes out on the losing end. San Francisco business themselves should be disheartended with this news. And by the way, if you get something you dont want in the mai, is is really such a big deal to just toss it in the trash if it doesnt interest you? You know there are times when you receive items that do. Just pick and choose what you want to read – simple as that- -
April 5th, 2009 11:41
Let’s see these people are the same people who banned plastic bags and are now using thick paper bags to carry they’re groceries home? Hum… I wonder how many envelopes one could make from a single paper grocery bag? I wonder if they’ve ever visited a Weyerhauser tree forest. You know those spindly fast growing pine trees they grow specifically for PAPER products! Yeah good idea, do-not-mail registry. How many people will this put out of work? maybe they could grow marijuana at the forestry to sell to the people in SanFran. who are sooo smart. Those same people who chose to live in grossly overpopulated areas of the US who spend hours idling in traffic,polluting the air we breath, and yes killing those precious Giant Red wood trees in your national parks. How many trees have they clear cut for all the huge power-lines strung across your state to provide electricity to your smog pouring cities ? Drug infested, Crime riddled, Aids epidemic society you embellish With your narrow-minded ,self-righteous petty attitude. I suppose you will want the Post Office to filter your mail and absorb the cost of doing so all while continuing to deliver your mail at the same cost as before? Hello! Advertising, while providing a value to those of us who use coupons and can READ the sales ads enjoy the information we rely on from the mail. It’s not possible to keep up with everything we’re interested in without a friendly reminder on occasion. So keep your opinions on whats good for us and fix ALL THE BAD in YOUR CITY of SAN-FRAN. You won’t have time for trivial things such as a piece of bulk-rate mail.
April 6th, 2009 15:09
The people that sign up for that list will be the first ones calling in saying “why did’nt I get any mail for two days,I think the carrier is not delivering all the mail.” Go figure HAHAHAHAHA!!!!
April 17th, 2009 18:28
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT….WON’T HAPPEN
April 20th, 2009 12:50
While you’re at it, I buy several newspapers a day. I PAY for the ADS too!! Why do I have to pay for advertising? I demand that I get my newspaper without the ads! How much larger is my Sunday paper because of the ads? How many trees did it kill? You say the paper couldn’t survive without the ads, huh? Well, how ’bout that!!
Of course, the mail comes to me without charge. Someone paid to send it to me. I don’t have to read any of it, but at least I didn’t have to pay for it.
June 3rd, 2009 19:53
There’s absolutely no reason not to use coupons. I’ve become very fond of them, especially lately with prices in the grocery skyrocketing. Why wouldn’t you use coupons, its like free money!
July 12th, 2009 17:46
What template are you running on this site ? I really like it. Could you post where you got it from ?