So in addition to documenting the absurd quantity of waste and trash the Yellow Pages creates, I took my own little unscientific sampling the morning after the big dump.  

I live in a nine unit townhome complex.  My neighbors are mostly 30s and 40s professionals like myself, which a few older folks retired or approaching retirement, plus a few guys in their 20s renting a unit.  One of whom seems to think my flower pot is an ashtray.

Before going to work I did some scouting:

Three phone book packages were in the recycle bin, including mine thrown in just after I took this photo. 

One bag was in the dumper. 

Three were still on the doorsteps.  (One unit is vacant, so that counts as trash.)

Two must have been brought inside, because I didn’t see them out back or on the steps.

So assuming the two remaining bundles will be picked up and brought inside (like an unwanted baby at a fire station,) that still is only FOUR out of NINE homes will bring the phone book inside.  A meager 40 percent!  And I’m erring that the two remaining bundles on the doorsteps will even be brought inside. 

Over in Albany they’re consideration legislation to ban the distribution of phone books on public property, or leaving bundles of them in building lobbies and such.

Hung up on how many phone books you receive?

A hearing will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Albany City Hall on a proposed law regulating phone-book distribution. The law proposed by Common Council member Joseph Igoe would require the books to have a toll-free number on the cover for opting out, which would mean no book delivered to your address for a year. It also would bar dropping the books on public property, in rights of way or at vacant buildings.

With all the economic turmoil and what not what business is it of a local government and stomp on private business?  Number one phone book crusader Ed Kohler and his readers agree explain multiple times that when a business fails to be a responsible member of a community, or more to the point makes its business by littering and heaving trash all over a city, that leaves little choice but for a local government to step in.

Good for Albany.  Hopefully more towns will follow suit!  When it comes time for a Denver city council meeting I’ll have every one of my blog posts, (with photos,) in hand.

Every other Subway I’ve visited keeps the cold cuts in stainless bins, and while making the sandwich the “sandwich artist” either eyeballs the amount or weighs it on a scale. (I assume depending on the management.)

I appreciate Subway wanting to be democratic in their distribution of cold cuts, and I’m sure the pre-portioning of these helps the bottom line, but over time these hundreds and hundreds of little trays add up to a lot of needlessly disposed of garbage!

Do any other stores do this?   I haven’t noticed it at the Cherry Creek Subway, which I visit more frequently, but if this is multiplied by the thousands of locations that’s a lot of trash created for a really unnecessary reason.

How about returning to the stainless bins and scale for measuring amounts?  It only adds about two seconds to the process.  Let’s have the employees control the meat without wasting all this paper.  Please?

I’ve sent this in and we’ll see if I get a response.

Related posts:

Too Much Trash Onboard
Coffee Shop Controversy
Treasure Cave Cheese Wasteful Packaging

I’m sure my regular readers are sick of weekly posts bitching about phone books, so here’s something more exciting: Another installment of Future Gringo TV. Many of my favorite bloggers are now making videos: Vinny at Insignificant Thoughts produces short commentaries voicing his opinions on culture and politics. The beautiful diabetes blogger Kerri at SixUntilMe.com is video blogging from her car. (Don’t worry she’s not living in it.) The only videos I’ve posted are of me sniffling in the chilly weather while biking around Amsterdam.

So here’s my latest short film: La Vida de Las Páginas Amarillas. (It sounds more important if its foreign.)

Although the quality is far less superior than the above bloggers, and the onset of darkness at 4pm virtually blacks out the climax, (the heaving into the recycle bin,) it still carries a strong message: Prompting advertisers to realize that many of these phone books are simply unwanted, considered unnecessary by a large demographic, and go unused.

I may recut this tomorrow afternoon, but only after hiring a professional light crew and sound person. In the meantime visit these related posts for info on opting out and reducing this wastefulness.

I Am a Termite
Phone Books, Blogs, and New Media
Dear Phone Book Publisher
More on Phone Books
Phone Book Follow Up
More Phone Book Pontification

A ridiculously large percentage of phone books that are DELIVERED wind up in the garbage. Its wasteful plain and simple, and the only reason they’re given out like candy on Halloween is to trump up circulation numbers for advertising rates.

Last year Yellow Pages industry head Ken Clark commented on my frustration, and in March some good folks gave info on how to opt-out in this post. The high profile site The Consumerist also ran an opt-out story earlier this month with some good ensuing discussion.

By the way I only really get inspired to bitch about phone books when an inky yellow dinosaur arrives my doorstep. So why is it this happening over FIVE TIMES A YEAR? This delivery thanks to Verizon, who I didn’t even know served our market. (I thought it was Qwest.)

Some phone book industry advocates like Ken Clark have touted how easy and convenient these are to recycle. (This is irrelevant. It’s still wasteful.) So today I’d like to debunk the “easy to recycle” statement: This morning’s phone book by Verizon arrived entombed in a tight clear plastic covering, inside of a loose plastic bag. (More waste.) So before heaving it into the paper recycling bin you need to remove it from the bag, and then peel off the tight plastic wrap. Ladies don’t break a nail.

Also stuck to the front of the book was a refrigerator magnet for an urgent care center. This can’t go into paper recycling. Nit-picking? Yes. But its still work to be done, and you probably just want to go to work right?

Also consider many individuals and families just don’t recycle. So while its not the green thing to do, some just pitch the whole mess, magnet and all, into the trash.

In November I wrote about the frustrations of having useless fax machine size yellow dinosaurs constantly dropped off at my door. I wrote about it in November of ’06 too.

Most readers agreed that these are about as relevant as an eight track player.  I also found another story about RETURNING phone books, (not just recycling them,) that was done up in Seattle by alternative weekly “The Stranger.”

From my original post:

Anywhere a phone exists there’s most likely internet access or WiFi, making your product obsolete. Even in my office at work I don’t see phone books in cubicles or workstations anymore. They’re as useful and as relevant as cassette tape answering machines, VCRs, and Blockbuster Video. 

Stop publishing these. It’s a waste of paper, and a waste of the plastic used to wrap them in. (Actually those make decent dog poop bags.) Also the only revenue these bring in – which is advertising, is sold under false pretenses. Just like magazines, phone book publishers base ad rates on circulation. So my handling of this book for five seconds between lifting it up, walking it to and heaving it into the recycle bin counts as an impression and/or user. Yeah right.

This prompted a passionate copied and pasted response from “Yellow Pages Industry” leader Ken Clark:

The other myth is that the Internet is all we need. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that the broadband market is about tapped out. There will always be a good percentage of the population that will never have access to the industry’s Internet products. Barely more than 50% of households in the U.S. (about 56 million homes), currently subscribe to a high-speed Internet service. An additional 21 million households still use dial-up connections (yes, you read that right dial-up connections).

This week 9News/KUSA ran a story on cumbersome phone books, where to recycle them, and most importantly how to opt out:

Call 1-877-243-8339 to opt-out of receiving DEX phone books. Call 1-800-929-3556 to opt-out of receiving Yellow Book directories. If you want to opt-out of the Verizon phone book, you can call 800-555-4833.

The catch however?   You MUST provide your phone number, so they can call you back next year to make sure you still hate phone books.   Well at least its a start.  I’d still rather drop them off at Ken Clark’s house.

Story and video from KUSA.

The bang was so loud I nearly crapped my pants. More than a foot thick and tucked in a bag destined to live forever in a landfill, our new Dex phone books—all three of them!—landed on our porch shortly before dawn on a sunny summer morning.

It had been ages since I cracked open a phone book. Why would anyone use a phone book when Google can locate any number you need in .28 seconds or less?

This review prompted the same boilerplate response by Ken Clark as he posted yesterday morning on my site.  

Their solution to the phone book annoyance?  Return them.  As pictured left Dan Savage’s crew heaved pound upon pound of unwanted Dex phone books at their company doorstep. 

Now that we have our truckload here in Denver let’s do the same.  I’m ready.

Also – I never got an answer from Ken Clark on whether or not the “immediate disposal” factor is taken into consideration when hyping circulation numbers.   How can you honestly say you have “X” number of circulation – when as shown by Dan Savage, myself, and probably countless others who don’t waste time blogging about it –  that a substantial percentage of these books make a beeline for the dumpster without one page being opened.

If phone books were actually useful and relevant we would have “One Phone Book per Child,”  and not “One Laptop per Child.”

Meanwhile if you are interested in how phone book publishers, sellers, and marketers are desperately attempting to put food on their family visit YPtalk.com  The “voice” of the yellow pages industry, (ironically on the web,)  where you can read for yourself the obvious hilarity in such matters such as:

Why do customers cancel their advertising??? As sales people, we are competing with everyone who comes into that business selling something. We all know the advantages of Yellow Pages advertising. How can some customers not see the value of the product and want to cancel ads or even their whole program?

Why are you still around? I considered this question last year when you left this dinosaur at my doorstop. I haven’t used a phone book since the 90s, and suspect many have dismissed them as well. Who would choose to page through this inky yellow mess when you can find a phone number, address, or business in seconds using Google or any other search variant – national or local. On the road? There’s Google Text, Google 411, and many others.

Point being anywhere a phone exists there’s most likely internet access or WiFi, making your product obsolete. Even in my office at work I don’t see phone books in cubicles or workstations anymore. They’re as useful and as relevant as cassette tape answering machines, VCRs, and Blockbuster Video.

Stop publishing these. It’s a waste of paper, and a waste of the plastic used to wrap them in. (Actually those make decent dog poop bags.) Also the only revenue these bring in – which is advertising, is sold under false pretenses. Just like magazines, phone book publishers base ad rates on circulation. So my handling of this book for five seconds between lifting it up, walking it to and heaving it into the recycle bin counts as an impression and/or user. Yeah right.

As with 90% of everything else I comment on I’m certainly no expert. So if you work for Dex, sell phone book ad space, or sell any other product that nobody uses – please comment and let me know how you’re able to put food on your family. I’m honestly curious.

Meanwhile if you’re not building a time capsule here is where to recycle your phone book. James Van Dellen