How to stop getting phonebooks

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading ...

Posted by Jim on Sep 29, 2008 141 views

If you are like most people and hate coming home to find a plastic pile of garbage that immediately goes into the recycle bin, then stop getting local telephone books. Every year we get bombarded with these piles of environmental pollution. And it has to stop. How do you stop getting the phone book? Call Verizon at 1-800-888-8448 and get on their opt out list. Why do I need to call 8008888448 and opt out of the delivery of these relics of days gone past in advertising and technology.

Is the telephone book bad for the environment?

Hell yes it is. No matter what claims you hear about it being on x% recycled paper, or the y% of wood chips used it its a resource that individuals get thrown on their property without the decent courtesy of asking them to opt in for it. For that matter why not charge people for the telephone book? Immediately implement a $1 charge to cover fuel costs to print and distriubute the telephone book. And then watch the people opt out in droves.

Why is the telephone book still printed?

Advertisers are sold on the value of the telephone book by the telephone industry. There is an industry of people who make their living off of selling ads for the phone book. People make a living off of selling data on how great the phone book is as a resource for customers to find businesses. There is an industry of people who print the books. There is an industry of people who find seasonal workers to drive and trek across the country dumping them on yards, steps, stoops and curbsides.

Why is the telephone book still printed? Because the people who make money off of printing it are still making money. And those people want to say they deliver to 126,311,823 of the 126,311,823 residences, condos, townshomes, single family homes and apartments in the US. And they can reach 299,398,485 people in the United States of America. But how many want these relics? It would be very simple - send out a simple postcard printed on recycles paper and biodegradeable ink asking people to call 800-888-8448 and opt in for the telephone book. If you opt in, you get one sent to you.

Why do I have to pay to have my number unlisted?

Because the telephone company wants to sell telephone books. And if you are not in there you hurt their revenue stream. If I am not a telephone company customer do they put me in their phone book? No - they only put you in their white pages if you are one of their customers. Lets review this. If you have a VOIP phone or a cell phone, you are not in the phone book white pages and it does not cost you anything. If you pay the telephone company for a phone line you have to pay them extra to not be listed. Who does this benefit? The phone book industry, and no one else.

What can I do to save money on my telephone bill?

Stop paying for services you do not need. If you have cell phones, do you need a home telephone? Or just a landline in case of emergencies or a dead cell phone battery? Then get it with every service removed that you can. It adds up. And it sends a message to the telephone companies that they need to be competitive. Lastly, you may be over spending on your telephone bill by hundreds of dollars a year. If you do not call them, they will not put you onto cheaper or better plans. You have to ask them. This is a bit of garbage they have gotten away with. Do not be a victim of the telephone company by ignoring those rate deals that came with you bill, you see on tv or on the Internet. Be an educated consumer. Stop paying for unlisted telephone numbers - people can and will find you. Unless you really think that no one can find you, stop wasting money on this old silly offering. Get in on the national do not call list. And when a group excluding from the national do not call list contacts you, let them know you do not want them to call you.

What can I do to help save the environment on my telephone bill?

Contact your telephone company and get electronic billing. If they do not offer electronic statements, tell them you want it and look into changing to a company that offers electronic statements. Contact your state public utilities commission and urge them to put in two changes - Mandatory opt in only telephone book distribution and eliminate charges to have an unlisted telephone number from their customers. It is an electronic check box and has no operating costs. 3 decades ago it might have been a manual list that had to be hand edited, but that is no longer the case. It is an electronic check box, that once checked an electronic process keeps you out of or in the white pages and directory service.