Putting an End to Junk Mail
I remember years ago in an anthropology class our professor presented us with a fictional scenario, set around the year 2500AD. In the scenario, North America exists as a zero-life wasteland, having succumbed sometime in the 21 century to slow burial by mountains of self-created junk mail – a result of the lethal combination of heavily subsidized newsprint and escalating consumer obsessions. Futuristic archaeologists painstakingly excavate the ruins of this once-great civilization from a million layers of outdated coupons and big-box store flyers, deeply intrigued by its mysterious demise.
The laughable scenario went on to detail archaeological practices and common errors, but what remained with me for some time afterwards was that searing reference to our very real cultural practice of using precious resources in the least intelligent ways, and to the detriment of all living things. Reflecting on this, we decided to withdraw our participation from the gross waste of paper, ink, and energy that is junk mail.
We located the Red Dot Campaign online and learned how to notify Canada Post of our decision not to receive unsolicited mail. You can find official “No Junk Mail Please” stickers for sale on the site, as well as a link to the Canadian Marketing Association’s “Do Not Contact” list. Visit www.reddotcampaign.ca to take advantage of this and find out more about the issue.
In addition, double check that all of your bills are sent in an electronic format, and remember that if you are receiving unnecessary letters, notices, or those blasted credit card cash advance cheques you never use, you can call your credit card company and have your name taken off their list immediately. Even if all of these resources are recycled, junk mail still uses up incredible amounts of fossil fuels and waste chemicals in its production, transportation to your home and then back to the recycling plant, and finally in the recycling process itself. How much better it is to hijack its creation in the first place.
Take a moment to visit another interesting site I just discovered, called Reach for Unbleached. Dedicated to encouraging clean pulp mills and clean paper, it details the history of paper processing, the chemicals and solvents used in different pulp and paper mills, and the best papers on the market to buy: www.rfu.org