100 Million Trees A Year Are Cut Down For Junk Mail. Here’s How To Stop It For Good

a pile of junk mail stacked in a disorderly way

100 Million Trees A Year Are Cut Down For Junk Mail. Here’s How To Stop It For Good

Thomas Nelson
December 19, 2020
Sustainable Living
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If you have a permanent address and a mailbox to receive mail, chances are you’ve encountered junk mail. It ranges from coupon booklets and credit card offers to unwanted magazines and catalogs. Why is this a problem? Because every year, 100 million trees are cut down to make a total of 100 billion pieces of unwanted mail. Much of it doesn’t even get recycled. Ready to start chipping away at the issue? Here’s how to get rid of junk mail for good.

Say no to Valpak junk mail

Valpak is a significant source of unwanted mail. Each year, they send their recipients, often individuals who haven’t opted in, blue envelopes full of coupons for local companies. If you don’t use your Valpak offers, it’s easy to unsubscribe from their mailing list at the Valpak website.

Unsubscribe from the DMA

The Data and Marketing Association, or DMA, is responsible for a large share of the junk mail sent to consumers, many of whom never opted in. But the DMA makes it easy for us to opt out of their mailings. All you have to do is unsubscribe at the DMA Choice website. If you like their offerings, you can sign up to receive emails and go paperless.

Note: There is a $3 processing fee involved with unsubscribing from the DMA.

Try Paperkarma

Paperkarma is a simple to use app that helps you stop junk mail and reduce your paper waste. They will help you opt out of unwanted catalogs, charity donation requests, local and national mailers, previous occupant mail, credit card and insurance offers, and more.

Unsubscribe from credit card and insurance offers

This is most of the junk mail I get, and the best way I’ve found to get rid of them is with Opt Out Prescreen. You can opt out of it by visiting their website or calling 1-888-567-8688.

Opt out of the yellow pages phone book

70% of people who receive a free phone book never even open them. They go right into the trash. If you use the phone book, all good. No need to opt-out! But if you’re one of the 70% who views it as nothing more than junk mail, you can easily opt out. All you have to do is visit the Yellow Pages Opt Out website and opt out of the local yellow pages directory deliveries.

Opt out piece by piece

Junk mail doesn’t come from just a couple sources, but lots of marketers send them out. Some are local, some not. All of this unwanted mail that I’ve encountered has a contact of some kind, be it email, phone number, or a mailing address. Any unwanted mailings that the above unsubscribes and opt outs don’t get, you may simply need to opt of out one by one.

How to opt out of junk mail in Canada

This has been a very United States centered article, but junk mail is a problem in many countries. If you’re in Canada, you can opt out of these mailings by visiting the Canada Post website and opting out there. They can’t stop all unwanted mailings though. They are unable to stop community mailings, mailings in the public interest from government departments, and mailings from Elections Canada.

Does this actually get rid of junk mail?

I have personally gone through all of the above steps to reduce the amount of junk mail I get, so I can answer with confidence that this does sort of actually work, yes. What I find is that the unwanted mailings slow down and eventually stop, but it does begin to trickle in again after a year or two. My unsubscribes from Valpak and the Yellow Pages in particular have been honored 6 years after the fact.

What about the post office?

One concern I hear a lot is: what about the post office? Doesn’t all the junk mail create jobs and keep the local post office open? In short: yes. These unwanted marketer mailings do create jobs and revenue for the post office, but first class mail generates more revenue. The real issue at hand isn’t that people are opting out, but that fewer people are sending letters to one another. If you’re concerned about the viability of the post office, send a letter to a friend!

Fast facts about junk mail

100 million trees are cut down each year to make 100 billion pieces of junk mail
1 in 3 pieces of mail sent in the United States is junk mail
60% of junk mail goes straight to the landfill according to the EPA.
The carbon footprint of junk mail is the same as about 9 million vehicles.