Phonebooks: Good or Bad?


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Phonebooks for the legislative department

Yesterday at the Seattle Public Utilities and Neighborhood committee meeting we had a great discussion about waste reduction following up on a resolution that Council passed in January asking the state to better regulate junk mail. We also discussed new ideas on how the city might want to reduce the number of phone books that end up in the waste stream, if it decided to do so. Junk mail in the city is estimated to generate over 15,000 tons of waste annually, and even if it is all recycled, still costs us over $2 million to dispose.  Yellow Pages are estimated to generate an additional 1300 tons of waste at a cost of $190,000 per year to the city.  The discussion around phone books was quite engaging and followed a number of passionate public comments encouraging us to take a hard look at yellow pages. 

As if on cue, phonebooks started arriving today.  This morning my aide brought in a Verizon SuperPages Yellow Pages that was mailed to her yesterday.  (I am curious how much it cost SuperPages to mail a 2lb. 13oz phone book.)  Then this afternoon at work, Dex dropped off 42 copies of their Yellow Pages and 48 copies of the White Pages.  I will be tracking to see how many people here actually pick-up books.

So what do we do next? I’ve decided to take up a collection.  If you receive unwanted phone books, I encourage you to bring them down to city hall and drop them off for my office, and I will store them here as we ponder what to do next.  It would be even better if you attached a brief story about your unwanted phone books:  Do you not use Yellow Pages at all?  Do you use Yellow Pages, but feel you can go without multiple copies?  Do you have a favorite brand?  What steps have you taken previously to stop receiving phonebooks and did it work? Or maybe you feel the existing phonebook system works well for you? If you don’t want to lug your unwanted yellow pages into city hall but have a story to share, please post it here.

As we continue to formulate our policies on reducing waste, I look forward to hearing from you.

Posted: June 23rd, 2010 under Seattle Public Utilities

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Comment from Danimal
Time June 23, 2010 at 11:18 pm

I use phone books as part of my workout routine. I tear through them with my bare hands

Comment from Mary
Time June 24, 2010 at 1:09 am

In the past, I’ve received phone books from 3 different companies (I think, maybe more…). And either because I live on a corner & both the front & back door can be accessed from the street, or because there used to be a basement apartment with a separate phone number, I not only get all the phone books at the front door, I get another set at the back door!

The only times I recall using any of the books in the last few years are once when the power went out and once when my internet service went out. Usually I look things up on the web.

I’ve tried using the online opt-out forms, so we’ll see how that works this year. It’s kind of annoying that you have to fill out a separate form for each company, and that the opt-out only lasts for 3 years. Who’s going to remember to fill out all the forms again in 3 years?

Comment from Katie
Time June 24, 2010 at 2:05 am

Great idea! I’ll bring mine in and look forward to hearing about how they get used.

Comment from Jerda Smeltzer
Time June 24, 2010 at 4:20 am

D’oh! I dropped mine in the recycle yesterday and it was picked up this morning. There were THREE books in that plastic wrapped bundle (which was also in a plastic bag!! I moved in to this apartment in December and this is the second delivery of phone books our building has received — two books in the December bundle and three in this one. Silliness. It would be fantastic if we could opt out of them. I put one in our building’s laundry room in six months ago and the eight apartments share it, so one book has proved ample.

Comment from Elaine
Time June 24, 2010 at 6:23 am

What’s a “yellow pages?”

Comment from Erik
Time June 24, 2010 at 8:48 am

I’d love to bring you my new phonebooks… except they never made it inside the house… Right from the front porch into the recycling bin…

Comment from Elaine
Time June 24, 2010 at 6:18 pm

I suggest displaying the phone books turned into City Hall in a very visible location, so everyone can see how many books aren’t needed. Maybe on the west side of the building in the plaza.
Also, I suggest not allowing phone books in recycling and/or charging the phone book companies to recycle them, so the city doesn’t have to pay the cost.

Comment from DLP
Time June 24, 2010 at 8:30 pm

I only use Dex, the rest I pitch in the recycling.

Comment from Jackie B
Time June 25, 2010 at 4:46 am

We only use the internet for references, and there is no space in my house for phone books.

Comment from Roger Cole
Time June 25, 2010 at 5:17 am

Thanks for bringing this up. I refer to the white pages and the yellow pages all the time but it makes no sense to send out duplicate books. Like DLP, I hang onto DEX and recycle the rest. It is such a waste of pulp and paper resources

Comment from Herbert Curl
Time June 25, 2010 at 5:23 am

“No” to the extra, useless yellow pages. One from my phone company (Comcast digital: do they actually have yellow pages?) is enough. Itherwise, Dex is enough. Thanks for asking. I’d bring down the collection to City Hall, except for the fact I NEVER go downtown if I can help it. Too much traffic, not enough parking, inconvenient bus routes and times. I know, I’ll UPS them to you.

Comment from Andrew Lewis
Time June 25, 2010 at 5:51 am

Get rid of the phone books! Spare us the waste. Thanks for taking this up!

Comment from Ellie Rose
Time June 25, 2010 at 6:05 am

Great idea to collect the phone books. Look at the support for Opt-In in the comments people are posting! Opt-In is what people want. What an honor it would be to be the first jurisdiction in the U.S. to establish this common sense waste reduction measure.

Comment from Kristin M
Time June 25, 2010 at 7:47 am

Phonebooks are old school SPAM. I didn’t ask for it and it just shows up and I put them in the trash right when it comes. I think it should be opt in only and a crime to deliver without consent. Much like cyber spam. Please make it stop! It is a waste for all involved.

Comment from Joanne Donohue
Time June 25, 2010 at 2:48 pm

Get rid of them!

Comment from Kelli Barber
Time June 25, 2010 at 4:13 pm

I picked my up from the front step and walked it right over to the recycle bin .. three heavy paper phone books in a plastic bag.

Comment from Erin O’Connor
Time June 25, 2010 at 4:45 pm

Lug them down to city Hall! I can barely get them to the recycling bin! Before I cleared my office this spring, I had ten! I weeded them down to three, and sure enough, three more showed up two days ago. This is ridicuous and sad. The White Pages get smaller and smaller, and the selling of ad space must be ever more frantic to produce all of this wasteful publishing and distribution.

Comment from Rolf Gruen
Time June 25, 2010 at 4:59 pm

In a message from Sally Clark a site was offered to stop delivery of the phone books that were scheduled for Aug. I trust this will be a pro-active measure……but will let you know if not.

Comment from Tina
Time June 25, 2010 at 5:20 pm

We have tried to call and have them stopped, to no avail. My husband has also tracked them down while they are delivering the books and asked to be taken off their list. Nothing works. I agree with one of the above posters – how about charging the companies that produce these books to recycle them? That might inspire some ingenuity on their part. For example – maybe they leave a flyer on doors and if you want the books, you simply call to order one. I don’t like feeling as though something is being forced on me, especially at my home. And often times, the individuals who are delivering the books speak little english (or perhaps pretend not to in order to avoid angry confrontations).

Comment from Allan Phillips
Time June 25, 2010 at 6:15 pm

Please consider that telephone book delivery is subcontracted to
individuals who get paid per book for distribution. As wasteful as it may
be it can put food on the table for people struggling to make ends meet.
My family has done this in the past and it was indeed VERY helpful. In
the long run I believe declining advertising revenue coupled with cost of
production will reduce the volume of phone books in the market place.

My personal experience with the books is as follows:

I keep a copy of both yellow and white pages handy.

I recycle the competitions copies when they are delivered.

As for my thoughts on this campaign to “reduce waste”:

I suggest you stop wasting valuable time on fluff of this nature. Those
that will be hurt the most are the people struggling to make a few extra
bucks to feed their families. You have a real job, I suggest you give
value to the public who pays your salary.

Allan Phillips
Georgetown, WA

Comment from Dan
Time June 25, 2010 at 6:45 pm

i never ever use mine- they go straight into the recycling.

Comment from Paige
Time June 25, 2010 at 8:35 pm

Should we not let the market decide? If city residents don’t want them, should we force it upon them? Not only might they not want the phonebooks, they end up paying for them via the cost of disposal.

Phonebooks are less and less useful. If there is demand for the utility they offer the demand will be met via other means. The current mode of operation i swasteful.

Phone book businesses offload the cost of disposal on the city taxpayer. I want to see people in jobs too! But the men I see hauling books out of unmarked vans at sunrise would be better served by a job works program funded with $190K, rather than the questionable wage for one week’s work.

Hard to see a job go away, but it is an assignment, not viable business sector employment.

And the savings from stopping junk mail? Huge! As we will soon have Yard Waste recycling for apartments, can we not translate the $2M savings from processing junk mail into the program to process yard waste? That’s jobs!

Comment from liz
Time June 25, 2010 at 10:18 pm

I never ever ever use paper phonebooks. I use online services if I need a number. In my apartment building last year, stacks of unused phonebooks sat in the hallway for months until someone finally recycled them. Opt-in is the way to go.

Comment from Dan M
Time June 25, 2010 at 10:21 pm

I haven’t opened a phone book in well over ten years. I have no use for one. Think they are an enormous waste of resources and I would happily endorse any effort to eliminate them being distributed to unwitting citizens.
With all of this uproar in the publishing business, I am amazed there’s been no noise from phone companies’ useless publications, which were rendered outdated about 4 seconds after the interwebs went live. Moreso now with the advent of voice-activated searches on phones found in the pockets of so many people.

Comment from Sara
Time June 25, 2010 at 10:33 pm

I do not use paper phone books. If I don’t have a friend’s number, there’s a good chance they only have a cell phone and that wouldn’t be listed anyway. If I need a service, I go online.

I live in a house that has multiple entrances, and whoever delivers the phone books puts them at all three doors! No one wants them, so depending on the tenant, it’ll sit there for a few days or a few weeks. Eventually they’re recycled, but none of them even make it inside.

Comment from Diane
Time June 25, 2010 at 10:39 pm

I received a new set of phonebooks on my doorstep two days ago. It was the day before my recycling was to be picked up, so they went directly into the bin, and were gone in the morning. Such a waste.

Comment from Rob S
Time June 25, 2010 at 10:41 pm

I fully support the Opt-In idea, and I don’t have any laying around, as I recycle them right away. Don’t want or need them and can’t seem to get them to remove me from their delivery list.

Comment from Damon
Time June 26, 2010 at 12:22 am

If at all possible, the city should tax the delivery of phone books by an amount sufficient to offset their disposal costs. At the very least, such a tax would redress the current outrage of forcing the financial burden of the industry’s intransigence onto unwilling rate-payers. And, should this perfectly equitable redistribution of costs actually turn the practice of delivering unwanted phone books into a money-losing proposition, it could obviate the need to address the thorny issue of official opt-out/opt-in lists.

Comment from jen
Time June 26, 2010 at 12:33 am

I would like to drop off my phone book in spirit. I think it’s already been thrown away. I use google for everything.

Comment from Alan
Time June 26, 2010 at 4:53 am

One more voice for Porch -> Direct to Recycling. What a waste. I get 3 different Yellow Pages books: Dex, Verizon and YellowBook. They come several times/year.

Comment from Dan
Time June 26, 2010 at 4:57 am

We don’t even have a landline yet we still get a delivery.
What a waste of paper, energy and recycling (if it doesn’t end up in a landfill)

Comment from Megan
Time June 26, 2010 at 10:26 pm

I have an idea:
Let the phone book companies deliver all the books, with a message on the bag that says if you don’t want the book, leave them out and the company will go around again and pick them up in a few days. The books are left on covered porches or apartment lobbies, so they can pick up the unwanted books in one neighborhood and deliver them to another neighborhood, thereby “recycling” them so fewer need to be printed.

This also allows them to keep their high distribution numbers. It would be an added cost to have their delivery people do another round for pickups, but they will save money by printing fewer books. Seems like a much better option than opt-in, which would kill their distribution numbers, maybe killing the books altogether. All the council would need to do is require the phone book companies to pick up the books, which is a solution that the companies would likely prefer over a ban or opt-in situation.

Comment from Kimberly
Time June 27, 2010 at 8:06 am

The only time I use a phone book is if I’m around town and my cell phone has died- and I have to use a payphone- which happens, say, once a year. For those who don’t have cell phones/internet access, I think it’s good that phone books are by payphones- and for people who can opt in for them.
But I REALLY REALLY don’t want the two copies sitting on my front porch- and I especially think it sucks that 8 copies were delivered to my work- where we can and do all look up phone numbers online.

Comment from Judy
Time June 27, 2010 at 3:58 pm

CLEVER IDEA MEGAN! A SOLUTION RATHER THAN JUST COMPLAINTS ON WASTE..

Comment from Tiff
Time June 28, 2010 at 7:18 pm

I’m a custodian for an apartment building. I have over 100lbs of phonebook to get rid of now, thanks to Dex Yellow pages. They left about 70-100 phonebooks on Saturday them in our building lobby and NO ONE has taken a single book. Last year it took me weeks, doing several trips at time to get them into the recycling bins. This is such a waste. Not to mention a lot of extra unpaid work time for me.

Comment from Philip Nadeau
Time June 28, 2010 at 8:06 pm

I got my phone books yesterday and threw them straight in the recycling bin. I work for a Seattle-based company that is perfecting online directory search, making the paper directory redundant. Anything the city, county, or state can do eliminate this unnecessary environmental burden, can only be good for me.

Comment from Anne DeMelle
Time June 28, 2010 at 9:58 pm

I strongly support an opt-in policy.

Comment from Michael Snyder
Time June 29, 2010 at 1:40 am

At my 19 unit condo building, the phone company drops off 24 sets of white and yellow pages. Residents take 4 sets and I haul the rest to the recycling dumpster after a week. The average age in the building is between 70 and 80 years old.

I haven’t used a paper phonebook in at least 8 years, possibly longer. I enthusiastically support an opt-in requirement.

Comment from Adrian
Time June 29, 2010 at 2:54 am

Opt-in would be ideal. Preferably for all bulk (non-addressed) junk mail. But just the phone books would be fantastic.
I don’t even have a home phone.

Comment from Steve
Time July 1, 2010 at 3:36 pm

This is another crazy idea by a Councilmember//// It provides jobs, helps non profits. Over Regulation by
our City Council these last 20 years… Cant you due anything more productive on the Council. Bag Fee now
this. Last Year I had over $25,000 worth of stuff stolen
from my Apt. The person was selling them on Ebay. Did
the Cops due anything ? No

Comment from Steve
Time July 1, 2010 at 3:53 pm

How much money does the City Make on Recyled Phone Books ??

Comment from maggie stonecipher
Time July 2, 2010 at 2:07 pm

Please also go to http://www.selectyourdex.com to opt out receiving directories in the future! Consumers using http://www.selectyourdex.com to customize their directory orders, plus our strict forecasting methods, helps Dex have a great supply and demand ratio. Our methods have netted a reduction in directory stock paper of over 89 million pounds utilized in 2009 as compared to 2007! The goal is reducing unwanted waste so please take a few minutes now to opt out of future directories. Thanks.

Comment from Eric Smith
Time July 3, 2010 at 6:50 am

I use white and yellow pages and find them useful complements, often superior to online directories (as proved in races with young digerati in the office). But Dex is enough; the rest are waste. I’d rather receive a postcard or email order form with checkoffs for copies desired; I’d actually order extra books to take to the office, where we don’t receive any.
I’m all for reducing needless paper and disposal costs, but there are trade-offs here. I suspect that Dex yellow-page advertising subsidizes the white pages, just as junk mail does letter and book rates. And that phone books are still essential for some elderly and low-income folks, not to mention small businesses. Will restrictions (let alone a ban) make them unavailable or unaffordable?
And online searches have an energy cost–Google, etc. are major consumers of coal-fired power. Reaching for the phone book just requires a little exercise. I don’t know how these factors stack up, but I hope you’ll consider them. ES

Comment from Elaine
Time July 6, 2010 at 2:20 pm

They’re delivering phonebooks this morning on my street in Ballard, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they skipped my house, honoring my opt-out request made several months ago.

Comment from Louise
Time July 12, 2010 at 10:07 pm

I keep one book in case of an emergency (that my internet goes down). Plus, they’re great for physical therapy exercises – just wrap in duct tape so they are stable and use for step-downs, etc. I’m glad someone is looking into the waste of their production- way to go Mike!

Comment from Luke
Time July 12, 2010 at 10:11 pm

I strongly support a opt-in approach rather than the often ignored opt-out option we are supposed to have now. I never ever ever use phone books and think it’s shameful that the phone companies continue to print them and forcibly delivery them to every residence and business. I would guess that at least 4 out of 5 of them go straight to the recycle bin or worse!

Comment from Joe
Time July 12, 2010 at 10:26 pm

I use my phone-books to light my BBQ. I’m RE-using.

Comment from Eimear
Time July 12, 2010 at 10:39 pm

I have been receiving phonebooks for years and always disgusted that paper and all the energy to make it would be immediately put back into the recycle loop – unused!. I use the internet on my pc and phone to search for bix name, numbers and addresses. I find it difficult to believe that a business is allowed to mail such a weight of paper to everyone with such disregard for the environment! I am so happy to learn that I can opt out of this waste (from reading above comments – thx) and the people who truly need these phonebooks will still be able to receive them. The phone book is not dead – it just needs to be more targeted – proactively by all – community + phonebook producers + local government! Job just needs some common sense applied :)

Comment from Mary
Time July 13, 2010 at 12:27 am

I live in a 16 unit condo and after at least 2 weeks, we still have 10 phone books in the lobby. I wrote to Dex last week and asked them to pick up the unused phone books but have not gotten a reply from them. Their site said to put them in recycling!

Comment from Chris
Time July 13, 2010 at 3:05 am

I find it infuriating and an invasion of privacy that these companies think they can dump their trash on my front porch. It is no different to me than someone driving by and throwing a big bag of garbage on my front lawn. I shouldn’t have to pick up their phone book and recycle it. Plus, it makes my efforts to reduce paper use at my house seem like a complete waste of time — when these companies can come drop off a phone book that goes straight into the recycling that probably doubles my households annual paper recycling.

Comment from Bryan Harrison
Time July 14, 2010 at 6:54 pm

I’m on the Board of a condominium at 1111 East John Street. Once a year these companies trespass in order to dump this trash on our doorsteps. None of our owners want these books – we have a wondrous thing we call the internet that has long since rendered this stupidity obsolete. Everyone here resents it, and the mess end up in the recycling bin.

Last year I caught their delivery people in the act, and politely asked them to take the trash elsewhere. They refused, saying they would “get in trouble.” They continued dumping the damned books at our doors while I followed them, saying “Please stop. Please don’t do that. No one wants those. You are trespassing. You are littering.” all to no avail.

Dex refuses to remove them, recommending that we put them in the recycling bin. It’s obscene.

Comment from Sean Carlson
Time July 14, 2010 at 9:50 pm

I own a small apartment building (4 units) on Cap. Hill and I routinely get a pile — usually about 8 — of completely unwanted phone books on my front porch every year. I have done everything I can to stop this including spending hours over the years talking to Dex and their delivery people. Nothing slows them down. It is an outrageous waste and I consider it littering and tresspassing that they should continue this practice, so I applaud loudly this effort. I don’t even use them any more, and apparently neither does anyone in my building. This benefits the Y.Pages industry only and is a complete waste of paper. Next stop: can we do something about the proliferation of “A boards” aka sandwich boards all over the city’s sidewalks? The city tells me a guy used to do this but he retired. I will volunteer if given the authority to remove those that are not legally placed.

Comment from Margaret
Time July 15, 2010 at 4:28 pm

The other day as I was riding home from work, the bus passed several vans full of phone books being delivered to unsuspecting residents. When I got off I hightailed it home to try and cut them off at the front door. Too late. There they were – two massive, obsolete, and unsolicited phone books sitting there staring back at me. I’ve tried the opt-out with mixed results. If you are fortunate enough to find publishers information anywhere on these tomes, you then have to hope that they have an option to stop future delivery. (Incidentally, the opt-out is not for perpetuity but for a mere three or four years.)
Why are we allowing this? From the response to councilman O’Brien’s request I’m not the only one who is more than annoyed with this practice. Is a city or county ordinance banning unsolicited commercial publications beyond the capacity of voters or council members? How about funds to hire a few semis that would truck the unwanted phone books back to the point of origin – or better yet, the CEO’s home.

Comment from Julie
Time July 17, 2010 at 4:26 pm

Why is this littering a free-speech issue? If I want to dump a pile of paper on my neighbor’s doorstep, do I have a “free-speech” right to do it? Don’t let the phone book company lobbyists bamboozle you!

As to the lobbyists being “willing to consider” and “advance recovery fee”–who are they to be “wiling to consider” anything? Aren’t we in charge, here?

Comment from Jason
Time August 17, 2010 at 7:22 pm

What about the 23 million references to phone books in Pierce County this last year? All the metered (tracked calls) that were made. People are still using the book as well as internet. Just like a council member to try and figure out how we can eliminate jobs in these tough times. What about all the waste that comes via junk mail? That is nothing compared to a product that actually gets used.

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