To think junk mail should be banned.

[Stormwhale]

We receive so much junk mail in the post, far more than our actual letters. All of it goes straight in the recycling or more annoyingly in the normal bin if it isn't recyclable. It is so unnecessary in this day and age, and so wasteful. None of it is addressed to us, so its not from us using their services, just random.

In a world where we are destroying our planet, it seems such a wasteful thing to do. I would like to see it banned. Aibu?

Junk mail is of course annoying but I voted YABU because:
a. I don't agree with banning thing unless it is really necessary
b. It genuinely might be the only or the best way for some companies to do marketing, e. g. small local ones
c. I rarely see any that isn't recyclable so it goes straight in grey bin, no boggy.
d. Just occasionally there is something that catches my eye that I might not have found any other way.

I agree with @MorningStarling very sensible post

Yep, we live on a large housing estate and get constant leaflet drops along with the crap the postman brings. Really sick of the deluge of it that I then have to pick up and traipse to the recycling bin with.

You can opt out of the unaddressed stuff with Royal Mail but I think it was on here that I read that you have to opt out every two years. RM doesn't want you to opt out because they obviously get money for it.

Addressed stuff you can opt out of and it should be for good, but there are always companies that try to get around the rules.

Really sick of the deluge of it that I then have to pick up and traipse to the recycling bin with

yes maybe RM should put it straight into the recycling container nearest the sorting office and cut out the middle (wo)men.

I also think it should be banned. It is hardly environmentally friendly.

I am surprised it wasn't something that was discussed at COP26.

I feel sorry for the poor postie who has to cart all the shit around

It's very interesting how you can opt out, when you would think, given the very small percentage of people who show interest, it would make more sense to ask interested people to opt in. I wonder why they don't do that....

Then again, maybe there's a reason why websites don't automatically switch off all cookies and just wait for those who do want them to get in touch to request them....

I remember when this first came in: Royal Mail forcing their posties to stuff unaddressed junk through every letterbox. It must make their jobs much longer too, as they presumably now have to deliver to every address, whether or not they have any actual post that day.

RM claimed it was essential for them to help balance the books now that far fewer people send letters and bills in the post. Even so, it's still annoying that somebody is actually putting rubbish through your letterbox. In principle, if it's something you have no interest in whatsoever, it's no different from somebody stuffing an empty crisp packet or banana skin through your door.

At first, I made a point of saving all of their leaflets up and then posting them back into a postbox, but I soon gave up as it was taking me more effort than them! Plus the person emptying the postbox won't be the one who decided to start taking in junk mail for profit.

I get that a narrow range of people who aren't online may be interested in some of it, but the 'people in poverty' mentioned by PP are thus probably not in the market for a new conservatory or frequent takeaways. It's also probably unpleasant for vegetarians and vegans to have their own homes 'invaded' with full-colour pictures of meaty takeaways and imploring them to eat them.

Worst by far, though, have to be the endless charity bags - the ones that, even if you do fill them and leave them out for collection, nobody ever comes for. We learnt that ages ago so wouldn't bother at all now: they're just (rubbish quality) bin bags as far as we're concerned, supplied by a charity that must presumably have far more money in its coffers than it can use for actual charitable purposes.

YABU it's a perfectly legitimate way to market products and services and as previous poster has said companies use it as part of their marketing campaigns which also include online. There are still plenty of people who don't use the internet and otherwise wouldn't find out about things so print marketing is valid. If you think about it, running a campaign through a magazine is way more targeted than just leaflet delivery to every house as in theory the people reading the magazine or newspaper all fit a certain profile.

I feel sorry for the poor postie who has to cart all the shit around

Yes - plus the embarrassment for them when they catch you at the door on your way in/out or have to knock anyway if there's a parcel. Ours hands it to us and wearily says "And here's some rubbish for you." It does devalue their job somewhat, which is ostensibly to deliver wanted/important/relevant/personal things to you. I bet a lot of people don't stoically accept it and shove it in the recycling and direct their annoyance/abuse at the innocent postie.

Yanbu.

Yesterday was ridiculous. Five brochures from estate agents, four charities begging, four food box companies, two local free magazines and a farm shop brochure.

I can either stick it all in my black bin or book a slot at the tip and drive a 34 mile round trip to get rid because the council aren't collecting recycling due to staff shortages.
It should be a criminal offence in the same way unsolicited phone calls are.

YABU it's a perfectly legitimate way to market products and services and as previous poster has said companies use it as part of their marketing campaigns which also include online.

I get that - but don't you think the resident of a house should have any say in what they do or don't want pushed into it? Online is completely different, as it was my choice to visit a commercial/free website, so it's something I indirectly choose to view.

Or does the act of having a letterbox imply absolute consent for anybody to put anything they want through it?

Completely agree. And opting out of receiving it doesn’t stop them from printing the stuff- the damage to the environment is already done by the time an individual household refuses to accept it.

I wonder if companies should be limited to sending out a single leaflet to each house, with details on how to opt in to marketing from them if they are interested. Then it is a single piece of paper, which is recyclable instead of tons of junk repeatedly being sent. It would save the companies money on wasted resources, plus have a lesser impact on the environment.

@JuergenSchwarzwald

Really sick of the deluge of it that I then have to pick up and traipse to the recycling bin with

yes maybe RM should put it straight into the recycling container nearest the sorting office and cut out the middle (wo)men.

Great idea, given that's it's a massive revenue stream for them...

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll I'd say the leaflets we get most often are from Lidl. I'm pretty sure that goes direct to the segment of the population who may struggle for internet access.

I had a leaflet for low cost cremation delivered on my 54th birthday. Not the type of birthday wish I wanted. I even have a sticker on my door staying No Junk Mail but the postman can't seem to be able to read that. They all go in the recycling too.

I don't think posties can just take it upon themselves not to post stuff they've been paid to post.

Someone I know, who sees it the same as fly tipping, just posts it all back in the post box (the ones that don’t have addresses just random flyers) I’ve been tempted but can imagine the poor postie having to deal with it all.

Yeah that's just dick behaviour, why give posties extra work?

I'd say the leaflets we get most often are from Lidl. I'm pretty sure that goes direct to the segment of the population who may struggle for internet access.

Fair enough, then - but it's still a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Does anybody not know what Lidl sell?

I even have a sticker on my door staying No Junk Mail but the postman can't seem to be able to read that.

I wonder what it technically counts as, considering that it comes from RM, but is unaddressed. I know they're definitely not allowed to not post obvious junk that is addressed (Homeserve, anybody?); although I have heard of kindly posties who've risked their jobs by not delivering obvious scam mail to residents they know are vulnerable.

Someone I know, who sees it the same as fly tipping, just posts it all back in the post box (the ones that don’t have addresses just random flyers) I’ve been tempted but can imagine the poor postie having to deal with it all.

As I mentioned above, I used to do that when it was all new, so irritated at having RM put litter through my door. I stopped, though, mainly as I reckoned that it wasn't the fault of the person emptying the postboxes. Maybe I should have saved it all up and regularly sent it in a big unstamped envelope to the CEO of RM?!

@EatYourVegetables

We have a sign on the door. It reduces the amount… somewhat.

No one reads our sign, it mostly comes from Royal Mail or unfortunately people who maybe can't read English who are distributing it for little pay or in just too much of a rush to care.

I also wish that our postie would post standard (A5-sized) letters through properly, instead of folding/screwing them up first - and also actually post them all the way through. Our letterbox is just a flap, with no finger-threatening snappy thing on the back, but we do rather like not having our expensive heating being wasted by having a wide open rectangle on the door, wedged by a thick rolled magazine/pamphlet or something.

I even have a sticker on my door staying No Junk Mail but the postman can't seem to be able to read that.

Unless you opt out officially, the postman has to deliver the junk to you. Sign or no sign.

I might put a sign saying "No Bills" on my letterbox.

Unless you opt out officially, the postman has to deliver the junk to you. Sign or no sign.

Presumably just from the unaddressed leaflets? Otherwise, how could they know without opening the addressed stuff - companies are hardly going to label it 'junk mail' on the front, are they?!

Great idea, given that's it's a massive revenue stream for them

yes I do know that. Sigh. What is it with everyone taking everything literally on MN this week.