A year's worth of junk mail: Family reveals 15ft trail of 1,

[pinstripe]

They could just put it in the bin.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -year.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is the bane of modern life - accounting for half of all post delivered.

But, as these startling pictures show, the deluge of junk mail arriving through our letterbox each year is truly astonishing.

Tired of the unwanted mail dropping on her door mat and going straight into the recycling box each day, one mother decided to conduct an experiment by saving it all.

Rebecca George collected every takeaway menu, leaflet and sales letter she received during a 12 month period, only to find to her horror that it covered the entirety of her 15ft-long hallway.

The 44-year-old graphic designer, from Hackney, east London, received an astounding 1,027 items, which is more than three every day.

Mother-of-three Mrs George said: ‘I was so sick of the mail we were getting I decided to experiment, and see how it stacked up.

She said: ‘I had no real concept of exactly how much it was, but just knew that I seemed to spend every day clearing up the growing mess. Now I can see that it actually covers the entire hallway. It’s ridiculous.’

Last year, Royal Mail delivered 3.3billion ‘unaddressed letters’ - the vast majority of which go instantly in the bin - but Mrs George found the worst offenders to be bank and credit card companies.

Mrs George, who is married to Andrew, a journalist, added: ‘It was a combination of Royal Mail delivered junk mail and flyers put through by hand.

‘The worst offenders were banks and credit card companies offering loans and cards. Estate agents desperately trying to get me to sell my house were another regular feature.

‘I still get mail for someone that lived in the house more than 15 years ago - despite returning it on a number of occasions. But flyers from local businesses are another thing entirely.

‘Cab firms seem to be unable to drop off just one card and insist on putting three or four at a time through the door and the men delivering pizza takeaway adverts seem to operate round the clock.’

The estimated cost of junk mail disposal to the taxpayer is estimated at being well in excess of £50million, but since Royal Mail last year scrapped a ban on delivering no more than three unaddressed letters per household, per week, the number could be far higher.

Mike Jones, of the Local Government Association’s environment board, stated recently that Royal Mail should work to reduce junk post.

He said: ‘Most people don’t appreciate being bombarded with junk mail on a daily basis.

‘Not only is it a nuisance to have to pick up and throw away, but it adds thousands of tons to the amount of waste councils have to collect.

‘Huge progress in recycling in recent years has meant that most of this will avoid being sent to landfill.
Project: Tired of the unwanted mail dropping on her door mat and going straight into the recycling box each day, Mrs George decided to conduct an experiment by saving it all

Project: Tired of the unwanted mail dropping on her door mat and going straight into the recycling box each day, Mrs George decided to conduct an experiment by saving it all

‘But Royal Mail and its direct marketing clients need to do more to reduce the deluge of junk mail landing on people’s doorsteps and make sure people are aware of their right to opt out of having unsolicited mail delivered to their homes.’

'Cab firms seem to be unable to drop off just one card and insist on putting three or four at a time through the door'

Rebecca George

Out of the 54million items of post delivered by Royal Mail each day, 27million are now junk mail - an increase of 200million in the past year.

Earlier this year, the head of Royal Mail, Moya Greene, defended the huge amount of ‘marketing mail’, saying it had contributed to the company’s profits, together with an increase in the price of stamps.

Miss Greene said that postmen should still treat junk mail with ‘utter respect’, as it had generated £1.1billion for the company.

[saddlerposty]

sad cow needs to get a life.

[Nikellie]

Why on earth does she not "opt out"? People whine to me about D2D yet none of them ever opt out.

It's symptomatic of today's blame culture where it's easier to point the finger rather than to do something pro-active.

[Lounge Lizard]

Add three hundred Daily Mails and it will be an even bigger and ever more useless pile.

[El-Bandito]

Mike Jones, of the Local Government Association’s environment board states
"Out of the 54million items of post delivered by Royal Mail each day, 27million are now junk mail - an increase of 200million in the past year."

Royal Mail states that volumes of mail is dying away, I know I carry 16 bags of it daily, but Mike tells it differently. Who is telling porkies?

[rhino49]

Add three hundred Daily Mails and it will be an even bigger and ever more useless pile.

[veryn]

Just friggin recycle it