How Do I Get on Mailing Lists?
Every time you enter a contest, make a donation, buy something, order a product by mail, write a check, or send in a subscription or warranty card, chances are your name and address are being added to a mailing list of some kind. Then the mailing list may be sold or traded.

What Can I Do to Reduce Junk Mail?
Below are steps you can take to reduce junk mail. Be patient; it takes three to six months before you notice a reduction in your junk mail.
 

Notify Mailing List Brokers
Some companies specialize in collecting and selling mailing lists. Write or call these companies and ask to be placed in their "suppress" files:

Call Mail-Order Catalog Companies
Most catalogs provide an 800 telephone number for placing an order; call this number and ask to be taken off their mailing list.

Contact Specific Organizations or Businesses
If you receive unwanted flyers or mail, call the customer service department of the organization or business responsible and request that your name be removed from their mailing list. Alternatively, send in a written request that is signed and dated. Include a sample of the mailing label so the sender can identify how you are listed in their files.

Return Junk Mail
Envelopes stamped "address correction requested" or "return postage guaranteed" can be retuned unopened to the sender by writing "refused, return to sender" on the envelope. DO NOT write this on mail without that special notation; the post office will not return it to the sender.

Get Off National Mailing Lists
Write to the address below and ask to be placed on a "suppress" file. Include a list of your name and address in all the different ways it appears on your junk mail. The Mail Preference Service places your name in the suppress file for five years. The Direct Marketing Association sends this list to its business subscribers four times a year.

Reduce Coupons, Ads, Product Samples
If you don't want these items, check for the name of the company distributing the item. Write or call and ask that your address be removed from the company's lists. One company mailing these items is:

Contact Credit Bureaus
Credit bureaus may sell names and addresses to banks and credit card companies. You can now contact Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian by calling a single toll-free number: (888) 5-OPT-OUT or (888) 567-8688. There is also a fourth credit reporting agency, Innovis, which also receives this information.

Avoid Warranty Cards
Warranty cards are a means of gathering names for mailing lists and to inform customers about product recalls. When you purchase a product, you may be covered by the manufacturer's warranty even if you do not send in the warranty card. Check with the manufacturer to find out whether or not your are covered and keep the receipt as proof of purchase. Write or call National Demographics and Lifestyles to be removed from lists created from warranty cards.

Don't forget to recycle the junk mail you do receive.

For more information:
To order CIWMB publications call 1-800-CA-WASTE. For the name of your local government recycling coordinator, call (916) 255-2555.

California Waste Prevention Info Exchange at (916) 255-INFO. Contact us! wpinfoex@ciwmb.ca.gov

Special thanks! Material in this fact sheet was adopted from "How to reduce junk mail" by Kings County Solid Waste Division, 1994 and "Junk Mail Reduction Kit" by City of Palo Alto Recycling Program