Sure was nice of the Journal Star to publish this ridiculous press release from Windstream and Berry about their upcoming phone book recycling program. The companies want you to help them look good by recycling your phone book through their program. I'm asking you: please don't. Don't give them your phone books, and tell your friends and family to do the same. Why? Because the problem they're trying to solve -- a ton of trash in the form of fat phone books -- also happens to be the very problem they themselves create. Every time you recycle a phone book through their program you allow them to claim that they are "green" and environmentally responsible and yadda yadda yadda. Baloney.
If Windstream and Berry wanted to "go green" they would establish programs to deliver phone books only to those who want them, and they would actively pursue new and better ways to utilize technology to decrease (or eliminate) our need for dead tree phone books. But no. They continue to spam our front porches with their garbage year after year. I certainly am not going to "reward" them by going out of my way to recycle their trash for them.
Please do recycle your phone books, but not through this program. Use your own recycle bin or, lacking that, use a neighbor's. Don't give the phone book companies the smug satisfaction of being able to count your phone book among their "green" total.
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See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
I’ll take your phone books and recycle them with my RecycleLnk can and get the points. Thanks.
Dunno why the phone book thing gets me so fired up - but it always does. Here’s what I recently posted on Facebook:
We use 2 phone books: 1 to prop up the front tire on the bike trainer. And one that goes under the dishwasher so the Roomba doesn’t get stuck under there.
This is an odd topic to get so riled up about, but as a recycler, it really irks me to see huge pallets of these things going to WASTE. Even if you recycle them - what a waste of energy to produce & recycle them!
Anther thing: I have a feeling the companies that publish those books are totally cheating their advertisers. Guess what? The number of phone books that get delivered does NOT equal the number that actually get used. No one sees your ad in the yellow pages anymore! We use the internet! But the more phone books delivered, the more they can justify their prices…ergo porch spam…
Ha! You’re right, those heavy books would translate to points quickly.
The number of phone books that get delivered does NOT equal the number that actually get used.
Also: The number of phone books printed > the number of phone books delivered.
My phone book is under the front wheel of my bike on its trainer too. Perfect thickness.
this was on Reddit this morning: http://www.banthephonebook.org/
Hey Fletch,
How do you like RecycleLnk? We were thinking about switching from star city b/c of the allure of the points system. Am I right in that they don’t take glass?
I’m not Fletch, but I play him on TV:
We use RecycleLink and are pleased with it so far. You’re correct that they don’t take glass. Here’s what they do and do not accept.
I’m not really sure where you could look to verify this, other than calling someone, but are they required to deliver phone books too ALL households/residents by city/county law or agreement?
Or does that play into this at all?
I’m sure it’s a huge cost to them to manufacture and deliver them, especially to people who don’t have landline phone service (like me). So, why would they WANT to go through that cost and trouble if they didn’t have to?
Anybody know?
I don’t know what the requirement is, but the simple answer to WHY they do it is money. Money, money, money.
That’s why we ended up with Yellow Book and other players in the market. One year, we had four books.
They make money by selling ads. They make more than enough to pay for the books and distribution. If they didn’t make money, they wouldn’t make the books any more.
I haven’t used a physical phone book, except at a truckstop, in about 8 years.
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