Latest News & Events
04/12/2006 - SAY NO TO RUBBISH ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Cambridgeshire waste chiefs are urging people to reduce the mountains of unwanted mail that piles up in their letterboxes or on their doormats every day.
The ‘Stop Junk Mail Today’ awareness campaign has been launched by Cambridgeshire County and the District Councils to help people prevent potential waste even entering homes.
The campaign aims to increase the number of registrations to the Mail Preference Service (MPS) and the Opt-Out facility run by the Royal Mail.Unwanted mail delivered to our homes is a growing problem. The amount of waste generated by junk mail has almost doubled in the last 10 years. Statistics from the Local Government Association revealed that last year Royal Mail delivered 3.3 billion items of unaddressed mail – an increase of 12.5% on the previous year and a potential 78,000 tonnes of junk mail ending up in landfill sites.
The ‘Stop Junk Mail Today’ is part of the ‘Reduce for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’ general waste prevention campaign and is a step forward in making landfill sites a thing of the past.Cambridgeshire produced almost 300,000 tonnes of waste in 2005, costing the County Council £7.3 million in disposal fees. Estimates suggest that junk mail accounted for about 10,500 tonnes of waste in Cambridgeshire – that’s equivalent to more than two full sacks of mail a year for every household.
Victor Perez, Waste Campaigns Officer for Cambridgeshire County Council said: “It is estimated that each resident registering to the Mail Preference Service could see a reduction of over 30% in the amount of unwanted mail they receive.”“Simple actions like these have a great positive environmental and economic impact. If less unwanted mail is produced and delivered, we’re saving resources and reducing emissions associated with production and transport and as a consequence, helping prevent global warming. In addition, significant cost improvements can be made in collection and disposal of waste.”
· Unwanted addressed mail can be stopped by registering with the Mail Preference Service on 0845 7034599 or visiting www.mpsonline.org.uk.· Unwanted unaddressed mail can be stopped by emailing the Royal Mail Opt-Out service on optout@royalmail.com.
· Hand-delivered unwanted mail can be stopped by placing a note or sticker on your door or letterbox. Stickers are available on request, email wmt@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or phone 0845 045 5207.
For more information about waste prevention, visit www.recap.co.uk or call 0845 045 5207.
Provided by Cambridgeshire County Council
