We’ve covered several different ways to reuse your junk mail-everything from using it in your garden to making jewelry out of it. But what if you don’t have a garden? What if you aren’t crafty? What if you just have too much of the stuff around to do anything productive with?
The most environmentally-friendly way to deal with junk mail is to recycle it, one way or another. Fortunately, there are many different places where you can lighten your junk mail load without sending it to the local landfill. According to Earth911.com, 87 percent of Americans currently have access to some type of community recycling program. If you don’t recycle already, here are some options that might be available in your community:
- Kick it to the curb: Many communities do offer curbside recycling. In fact, over 50% of the US population can recycle their junk mail without ever leaving home. Almost all recycling programs now take glossy paper, like direct mail catalogs, in addition to regular paper. To see if curbside recycling is available where you live, contact your municipality. Oh, and don’t forget to shred junk mail like credit card offers, which could be used by identity thieves.
- Take it to the post office: In October 2008, the US Postal Service began placing secure recycling bins in post office lobbies. The initial program was quite successful, and in March of 2009 they expanded the program to cover a total of 5,900 post office locations. To see if there is a participating post office near you, go to Earth911.com’s search page and search for “mail.”
- Find a recycling center: Even if you don’t have curbside recycling, there’s probably a recycling center in your area if you know where to look. You can find nearby recycling locations for a variety of different materials, including paper, at Earth911.com.
By recycling your junk mail instead of throwing it away, you can help reduce the amount of trees that need to be cut down to make paper, reduce the amount of energy used in paper production, and reduce the amount of pollution generated by making paper. Plus, you’ll have to take out the trash less often. That’s what I call a win-win situation!