Go Greener Tips

If you have a mailbox, you would have received them in overflowing quantities.  If you have gone shopping in any supermarket and grocery store, you have been provided with them.  If you have so much as looked at the salesperson, you will be given bundles of them.

A Sea of Catalogs

No, we are not referring to money because if that were so, we would have fallen in line with the rest of humanity.  We are referring instead to the catalogs that hawk just about every product and service known to mankind.

You have catalogs for personal accessories and personal services, toys and religious items, safaris and vacations, art and trash – name it, the industry probably has it.  This is all well and good because we all need information on the products and services available in the market, hopefully, most of which will make our lives better.

Unfortunately, we are drowning in a sea of catalogs.  And we do not mean it in the figurative sense either considering the quantity of catalogs and other similar products that flood our postal mail system and then end up in the garbage.  The sobering statistics for the United States alone:  5.56 million tons of catalogs shipped, of which a staggering 4.33 million tons end up in landfills.  As a saving grace to humanity, about 22 percent (1.23 million tons) are recycled.

So, every time you receive junk mail in the form of catalogs, you will know that it is just a few grams of the 32 pounds that every man, woman and child in the United States receive on an annual basis.  Sad but true, nonetheless.

A Trickle of Ideas

Fortunately, there are things that each and every one of us can do to address the problem.  It may be a trickle in terms of ideas and impact but you can be sure that your drop in the bucket contributes to making that bucket full.  Soon, the trickle we started can become a sea of good deeds for the environment.

First, you should recycle the catalogs that you receive.  Many recycling centers accept these pieces of junk mail to be recycled into other pieces of junk mail.  Just kidding, of course, but if it is true, at least fewer trees, less chemicals and less resources were sacrificed to make them.

Others have even made home décor items out the good paper from which catalogs are made of.  Basically, you make triangles out of the paper and then connect them to make various things like small containers.  It may not be for everyone but you can always try to be creative.

Second, you can ask your local businesses to employ more eco-friendly ways to market their products and services.  Word of mouth is also good especially when it spreads the word that the business establishment is eco-friendly.

Some have even gone to the point of asking businesses to make the no-catalog pledge.  It is simply pledging not to flood customers, both existing and prospective, with catalogs, brochures and other junk mails.  It may be slow going but it is possible.

In conclusion, saving the Earth need not be a dramatic show of force.  You can make a difference even by just taking a stand against the junk mail of catalogs sitting in your mail box.