Before there was email junk mail or spam, there was traditional junk mail. In spite of email becoming the dominant means of communication, traditional mail or “snail mail” is still being used. It also means that the junk mail problem has not yet been put to an end.

Junk mail or unsolicited mail comes to your mailbox, filling it with letters, brochures, catalogs, and other promotional material that you never asked for. Unlike email junk mail, in which mail servers and user accounts are the ones affected, traditional junk mail also affects other aspects of life as well.

Today, it is not just about your mailbox overflowing with mail that you really don’t want. It also concerns the environment. Junk mail has to be printed on paper, and where does paper come from? The trees! Statistics show that millions of trees are cut down every year for the sole purpose of junk mail. Add to that the need for the billions of gallons of water that are required to process and create paper.

Actions to stop junk mail, or at least reduce the amount getting into your mailbox, can directly help save trees from being cut down.

How Junk Mail Finds its Way into Your Mailbox

You perhaps are wondering how mail that you did not want to receive makes its way to you. You are quite sure you have not signed up for catalogs from a clothing company or asked for discount coupons or credit card offers.

The truth is, it is not directly your fault that junk mail is delivered to your doorstep. It is just the fault of companies or organizations that have your personal information and sell it to third parties for commercial purposes. The companies that buy that information are responsible for filling up your mailbox with junk.

Your government, phone books or directories, and financial or commercial companies are the common sources of information like your name, address, and telephone number. Either these companies or other companies that bought the information are the ones that send you unsolicited mail.

When you buy items on the Internet, apply for a credit card, or do any transaction that requires you to provide personal information, you are opening yourself to the possibility of junk mail. The same thing goes when you fill up and submit warranty cards or register software.

Your post office may also be responsible for mail finding its way to your mailbox even after you have moved several times already. In post offices in the United States, there is a National Change of Address Service, which aims to make sure you don’t miss a single piece of mail, even after you have moved. Post offices may sell this list to businesses so that these junk mail senders can still flood you with their promotional offers.

Getting Rid of Junk Mail

Knowing how these companies obtain your personal information might get you paranoid, but you cannot just stop providing your personal information or give out false data. You may get yourself into trouble if you do that.

So if you can’t stop giving your personal information, how can you stop junk mail from being delivered to you? Is it still possible to get rid of junk mail?

Businesses that send junk mail, also known as direct mailers, have master lists containing the names and addresses of the people to whom they will be sending their mail. These companies are usually members of groups or organization that benefit from sharing the information they have with each other.

In the United States, there is the DMA (Direct Marketer’s Association) Mail Preference Service and in the United Kingdom, there is the MPS (Mailing Preference Service), which are basically organizations of direct mailing companies. What you have to do is contact these organizations, either by phone, by mail, or through email, and tell them to remove your information from their lists. You may be charged a minimal fee for that request, though, but if it means you will be saving yourself from sorting through your mail and saving trees in the process, then a few dollars is definitely worth it. It may take a few weeks before you see the decrease in junk mail, but it surely will happen.

Sending junk mail is not illegal, as long as these companies provide an “opt out” option that allows individuals to request not to be sent such materials. Depending on the number of organizations that have your information, you may not get rid of junk mail completely.

If you really want to get rid of junk mail, you will have to spend a significant amount of time contacting the companies directly to tell them not to send you this mail. The best way is to contact them by phone or through email. If no information is provided, you can use the Internet to find their contact details.

If you have several credit cards and they keep sending you junk, call them up and request they not send you unsolicited mail. Tell them the type of mail you want to receive from them. If you don’t say anything, they will continue to send you junk mail.

If all your efforts fail and you still receive a lot junk mail or if you don’t have enough time to contact the direct mailers, then you might want to consider seeking the services of companies to get rid of junk mail for you. Greendimes is a popular company that makes sure your name and address is not included on any direct mailer’s list. Of course, you will have to pay a subscription fee for their services.

Avoiding Junk Mail

Your efforts to get rid of junk mail will be futile if you are not careful about providing your personal information. Here are some tips to avoid receiving junk mail:

• Never give out your name and address to telemarketers. If you are calling them to take you off their lists, be careful not to provide more information than they already have.
• When you are required to provide your information to companies, make it unique so that it is easy to track. For example, use your full name, including your middle name, or add “unit” or “apartment #” or similar terms to your address. When you receive junk mail that uses the exact information you provided, you already know who to contact to take you off the list.
• When filling out subscription forms for magazines, credit cards, and other similar organizations, make sure you check the “opt out” box that will not allow them to send marketing-related promotions or even share your information with third-party companies.
• If you are tired of receiving junk mail, get your number removed from phone books. Better yet, change your number to an unlisted one. Unpublished numbers will not appear in phone books and will not be sold to outside companies.

If you shop online or register for services, be they paid or free, be on the lookout for privacy policies. Make sure you read the fine print thoroughly. If the policy says they will provide your information to third-parties, then do not use the service, unless you want more junk mail. Most services have “opt out” check boxes, so they cannot contact you for non-essential things like promotions.