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It may seem like a small thing, but they really do bother me. I haven't had a land line in almost a decade, why do the phone companies keep delivering their phone books to me? Not only do I get the Yellow Pages one, and the White Pages, but I also get their local competitor's books.
Sure I can toss them in the recycling, but is there some way I can get them to just stop littering up my front steps with these things two or three times a year?
How they are distributed is no small thing. If they were subscription based I wouldn't have a problem with them but they aren't, they are advertiser driven. This means they ship to every address... that's 3 or more publications (different companies) a year for most people. That is a ton of wasted paper, not to mention the resources required to distribute them.
When I lived in a large apartment complex pallets of them would show up (literally) and sit by the mailboxes. Most of them would never get claimed. When they show up at my door I keep one yellow pages and toss everything else in the recycling bin.
Such a waste. I really don't even use the one yellow pages I keep but it is nice to have around in case I need to look up something local.
I never use them, ever. That's what the internet is for.
I wish I could ship them back to the distributor marked "Delivery Rejected"
I'm pretty much 100% digital but the yellow pages are still handy for local look-ups on occasion. There are too many holes still in the local listings online in some areas.
Like I said though I almost never use it. I used one a couple times when I moved (empty house, new area and such) and I think I've looked up a local merchant that I couldn't find online once.
Most of them are going (or have gone) digital already but still send the books since they represent the lion's share of their income. The publishers are floundering though and I see them going away entirely, or at least the print portion of their business, in the next few years.
I never use them, ever. That's what the internet is for.
I wish I could ship them back to the distributor marked "Delivery Rejected"
If you know where the local office is you can. Ours is about 3 miles from us. I know because I get the phone book on a CD from them and use it instead of the printed book. I can just take the phone book over there and drop it off. Let them handle the disposal.
Outside my door yesterday was 3 new phone books. Two weeks ago there were 2 outside. At least they were delivered on my recycle pick up day so they went directly into the can, minus the plastic bag
I haven't used a phone book in... forever. But I get 6 of them a year anyway... 3 different companies, white and yellow. I try to catch the people as they come deliver... now they just put them at the mailbox instead of on my driveway or doorstep. Not only is it a waste of paper... they always come in a plastic bag which leads to more non-biodegrable crap in the landfill, all the energy and water and chemicals from the printing process, all the fuel in transportion... waste waste waste!!
I have found one really awesome use for phone books though... building material! I built a decent sized shed with phone books just like strawbales, and made the roof out of all the plastic bags (I melted them together with an old iron to make a tarp-like sheet). Of course, the city planners didn't like it since it didn't meet code and I didn't get a permit... but at least I did my own form of non-violent protest in a constructive and creative way!
I remember when my girlfriend worked with a local newpaper company in Kentucky. She said they would run sheet after sheet of paper through the printing press to warm up the ink. The sheets that first went through were faded since the machine hadn't warmed the ink yet. They threw these sheets of paper away, enough to fill up two to three bins behind the building every day!
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