Junk Mail - What is Junk Mail?

What is junk mail?

Direct Mail or junk mail is used by many companies and charities that rely on direct mail to tell people about their products and special offers.

Some of this mail may be relevant and of interest to you but it is sometimes the case that this mail is unwanted and therefore a waste of paper and resources.

Is it a problem?

Direct Mail is not a problem as long as it is wanted and read. For some people it can be irritating and unnecessary and a waste of paper and resources.

If every household in Warwickshire received just one piece of unwanted Direct Mail a day it would create approximately 5 million pieces of wasted paper per month!

Facts

The average household receives 224 items of junk mail per year.

Stopping junk mail being delivered will save around 4kg of CO2 per household per year.

Around 21 billion item of unwanted junk mail, excluding free newspapers, are sent every year in the UK.

For each tonne of junk mail produced 17 trees, 7000 gallons of water and 390 gallons of oil are used.

Glossary
Direct mail		Mail for marketing and advertising purposes, sent by businesses to consumers.
Door-to-door		Unaddressed mail posted in bulk through the Royal Mail, often leaflets and catalogues advertising products and services. This does not include mail addressed to 'The Occupier' which it is legally obliged to deliver. You can opt out of receiving mail through this service.
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)		The Information Commissioner's Office is the UK's independent authority set up to promote access to official information and to protect personal information. They deal with complaints made under the Data Protection Act.
Mailing Preference Service (MPS)		The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) is a free service set up 20 years ago and funded by the direct mail industry to enable consumers to have their names and home addresses in the UK removed from or added to lists used by the industry.
Unaddressed mail		Mail without the name of a recipient such as a leaflet or flyer.
Unsolicited mail		Unwanted and unrequested mail.

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