Reduce Junk Mail to Save Time, Save Money, and Save the Environment

In just 5 days, we produce enough junk mail to reach the moon and back, according to an article from Hubspot. Equally staggering is the fact that approximately 44% of that mail goes unopened, and only a fraction of that gets recycled. Our landfills are filling up with junk… junk mail!!

Time to reduce junk mail now!

And that is only part of the impact on the environment. Junk mail destroys 100 million trees a year—the equivalent of deforesting all of Rocky Mountain National Park every four months. In the process of just creating and shipping junk mail, we produce more greenhouse gas emissions than 9 million cars. Billions and billions of gallons of water are wasted in the processes of production and recycling.

We could go on and on about the devastation to the environment because the facts are simply beyond belief. While the cost to the environment is first and foremost in the minds of many, the financial impact of junk mail is also out of control. But these aren’t the only reasons we need to take action to reduce junk mail.

Transporting junk mail costs about $500 million a year, and another $320 million in local taxes are spent annually to dispose of it.

And how much time are you spending dealing with junk mail? Some estimate that the average person wastes around 70 hours each year dealing with junk mail. If the average hourly wage in the US is approximately $25 per hour, then one could surmise that the cost for the average person would be about $1750.

Whether it is credit card offers, catalogs, magazines, sweepstakes, or whatever other junk clutters up your mailbox, there are options to cut back on the amount you have to deal with. You can do your part to reduce junk mail. While it may be difficult to shake all of the persistent or shady marketers, take some steps now to cut back on your junk mail and make a positive impact on your environment and even your wallet.