To get rid of JUNK SNAIL MAIL .... Ideas???

Question

It seems that the postal service will be sending even MORE junk mail an advertisements through our letter boxes in the future.
I normally put most of it in the paper recycle. Any ideas how to STOP it in the first place, or what to do with it, more worrying is it often has my address on it, so this can leave one open to fraud???

Answer 1

I am Sick to Death of getting Loads of Junk through my Letter box every single Day , even on Sunday in my Sunday Paper.
Our local Free Paper has Loads of Leaflets from Local Supermarkets,Chinese and Indian Fast Food outlets, The Post Office, put not only Junk Mail through the Door but Leaflets too,I have asked my Postie not to Deliver them but he say's he has too? Then we have all the Rubbish from Charity Collection leaflets at least 4 times a week,how much stuff can we afford to Throw out for the 3rd World Countries,and are these bona- fidi Charities,there is never a number on them like Cancer Reseach and The Heart Foundation Charities have.
I even have a Note on my Door stating I DO NOT WANT any Leaflet Drops Here,they all go un-noticed. or perhaps they can't READ!!
My Blue Recycling Bin is emptied every Fortnight and it's always Full,I wouldn't mind if our Local District Council gave us Money off like some Councils do on our Rates. It would then perhaps be worth getting all this Rubbish ? or Would it ???

Answer 2

You should be worried about your personal info on that junk mail. Once you put something in the trash it becomes public property which means anyone can sort through it. Identity thieves know this & apply for credit card offers with a different address. I don't know if it can be stopped. Its kind of like the do not call list, I get more sales calls now than before & they are now calling cell phone #'s. I do recommend that at least you invest in a good paper shredder. 1 that cross cuts so it will make the scraps Illegible. I use my shredded paper for packing material. I shred all the junk mail & even my old magazines. If you have a garden shredded paper makes a great compost filler. Most paper has a good breakdown with the exception of the glossy or plactic coated papers. Just toss those or donate them to an animal breeder or farm to use as bedding.

Answer 3

Yeah....we all know about the 'Mailing Preference Service' but that's no fun!!

If you're REALLY just looking to stop junk mail; then MPS is the best option;

HOWEVER - if you'd like a more inventive way to piss the mailers off....tear the mailing up and place it in the return envelope and post it.

They're paying the postage......to find out you're not interested!

Answer 4

There's no real way to stop it (in the US), but there are things you can do to feel better.

I always take a junk pre-paid envelope and stuff it full of every piece of crap mail I get that doesn't have any personal details. I then hammer a bunch of staples through it (because it says not to mail staples - it may damage sorting equipment) and then mail it. It doesn't help prevent mail, but the sender has to pay the postage.

Answer 5

What I do is take all the junk mail with pre stamped envelopes, and send it all back to the originator. They had to pay to mail it to you, and then have to pay again to get their own garbage back. It must be working, as I haven't gotten any junk mail in over a year.

Answer 6

Aside from registering, the other thing to do is send back the stamped address envelope with the stuff another company sent you It won't help the problem but it will make you feel better that you are wasting their money!

Answer 7

Bulk (junk) mail doesn't fund first class, it is self funding, and as long as people buy from the junk mailers the situation won't change. To get off junk mail lists you can go to the Direct Mailers website but they are going to try and make you jump through hoops. http://www.dmaconsumers.org/offmailinglist.html

Answer 8

register with the mail preference service it stops a lot of junk mail being sent

their web site is below

Answer 9

I have heard that some people save these up...make sure that their name and address is not still on any of it..(tear/cut them off) and then post all of them back to just one of the companies without putting a stamp on the envelope!

Answer 10

Write CANCEL on it and mail it back to the company in the pre-paid envelope that they send you. I worked for a company and my job was to remove people from the mailing list when they did this.

If they don't cancel, just keep mailing things back to them. Mail them back OTHER advertisements from other companies.