NO JUNK MAIL sticker - nobody respects it - what is it for then?

Ena123

I am currently being puzzled by the attitudes of both: the mail service and the leaflet people. When asking why they don't respect the sticker on the door (confronting them personally), each point at the other service that it is for them. I have explored the opt out option on the Royal Mail but there they warn that if we request this exclusion we might miss an important mail. Now speaking to the girl delivering mail she said they must put the junk through with the other legitimate mail (they get paid for it, companies contract RM to deliver their junk). 
Our sticker is just that: NO JUNK MAIL, but there are others including specifically all leaflets, even charity bags (I don't mind those) or newspapers (I want those each Saturday from a local publisher). What is the way out of this littering nightmare but keeping receiving the items I want? I can print my own sign and specify what I don't want, but will they read it and the paper delivery treat me with the local papers each weekend? And as such it will fade under UV as I don't have access to the same materials as the original stickers are of. 

jon81uk

If you don't want Royal Mail to do what they are paid to do then you can opt out on their website, but it is all or nothing, you might miss something, for example our local councils magazine is part of the Royal Mail bulk scheme.

For non-Royal Mail you are at the mercy of the person pushing it through the door and whether they choose to abide by your request or not. Someone from the local pizza shop might not care and will just push a menu through every door not paying any attention at all.

sheramber

It keeps the recycling team in a job.

Ena123

So I am trapped. The electronic spam is regulated somewhat by data protection laws but the paper spam isn't, all houses are anonymous. What about trying it on the environmental note? More paper to recycle means more paper to produce, transport, transport back with recycling collection, you know, carbon footprint. We need to recycle more of other stuff anyway, a lot of which now ends in incinerators. 

jon81uk

Ena123 said:

So I am trapped. The electronic spam is regulated somewhat by data protection laws but the paper spam isn't, all houses are anonymous. What about trying it on the environmental note? More paper to recycle means more paper to produce, transport, transport back with recycling collection, you know, carbon footprint. We need to recycle more of other stuff anyway, a lot of which now ends in incinerators. 

Trying what though?
You say trying "it" on the environmental note but who/what is it?

Royal Mail have a clear opt-out if you don't want  bulk mail from them.

If it has your actual address on it then contact the company and ask to be removed (as you say there is a clear data protection route where it is addressed to you).

But for the other stuff the only surefire way to stop people pushing things through your letterbox is to remove the letterbox really. A sign might help, but chances are the local takeaways and similar may not even notice it. If they aren't reading the current three words they won't read a longer one!

Abbafan1972

Ena123 said:

So I am trapped. The electronic spam is regulated somewhat by data protection laws but the paper spam isn't, all houses are anonymous. What about trying it on the environmental note? More paper to recycle means more paper to produce, transport, transport back with recycling collection, you know, carbon footprint. We need to recycle more of other stuff anyway, a lot of which now ends in incinerators. 

Slightly over dramatic? 

We don’t get a lot to be honest so it doesn’t bother me.  Anything we don’t want just goes in the recycling bin. 

Ena123

jon81uk said:

Trying what though?
You say trying "it" on the environmental note but who/what is it?

A legislation, to limit 'littering' of people's letterboxes when they display a request not to receive junk mail? For environmental reasons. You get prosecuted if they catch you dropping litter on the street. Why are people's homes not on the same level? Especially now in the increasingly more virtual existence when people can find services online. Many still cannot but they are growing a smaller minority. It also costs companies a lot of money and I am not sure whether it actually pays off in this day and age. 

Grumpy_chap

Ena123 said:

Our sticker is just that: NO JUNK MAIL, but there are others including specifically all leaflets, even charity bags (I don't mind those) or newspapers (I want those each Saturday from a local publisher). 

Unless there is a standard definition of "JUNK", what is meant by any signage of this type?  You even acknowledge that there is some non-addressed mail that you don't mind or even want. 

We can be certain that the local pizza parlour do not consider their marketing literature as "junk", though you may. 
What about the event flyer from the local community centre?
Local sports club seeking members?
Political leaflets at election time?  That can be a catch-22:  don't deliver and people moan they never make any contact / effort.
Opening offers (with value if you take them) for the new supermarket that is to open in the area? 

How is the person delivering to know what you want and don't want?  
Besides, the person delivering is paid to do a job (whether Royal Mail or a Teenager earning some pocket money) and that job is defined by the bill-payer "deliver one of these leaflets to every house in this street"

theoretica

Grumpy_chap said:

Unless there is a standard definition of "JUNK", what is meant by any signage of this type?  You even acknowledge that there is some non-addressed mail that you don't mind or even want. 

Exactly - 'no unaddressed mail or leaflets please' is less ambiguous.  You can't expect other people to share your values of where junk begins, or sort out different things folded together.

You also, unless you are comparing notes with a neighbour, won't know about the stuff that you don't get because of a sign.

jon81uk

Ena123 said:

jon81uk said:

Trying what though?
You say trying "it" on the environmental note but who/what is it?

A legislation, to limit 'littering' of people's letterboxes when they display a request not to receive junk mail? For environmental reasons. You get prosecuted if they catch you dropping litter on the street. Why are people's homes not on the same level? Especially now in the increasingly more virtual existence when people can find services online. Many still cannot but they are growing a smaller minority. It also costs companies a lot of money and I am not sure whether it actually pays off in this day and age. 

If you think legislation needs changing then write to your MP and see if they share your concerns.

But in terms of environmental concerns I'm sure if the fliers weren't working and creating new business for those companies sending them they would stop using paper as it can't be cheap to print stuff and then pay someone to push it through letterboxes.

MalMonroe

Ena123 said:

I am currently being puzzled by the attitudes of both: the mail service and the leaflet people. When asking why they don't respect the sticker on the door (confronting them personally), each point at the other service that it is for them. I have explored the opt out option on the Royal Mail but there they warn that if we request this exclusion we might miss an important mail. Now speaking to the girl delivering mail she said they must put the junk through with the other legitimate mail (they get paid for it, companies contract RM to deliver their junk). 
Our sticker is just that: NO JUNK MAIL, but there are others including specifically all leaflets, even charity bags (I don't mind those) or newspapers (I want those each Saturday from a local publisher). What is the way out of this littering nightmare but keeping receiving the items I want? I can print my own sign and specify what I don't want, but will they read it and the paper delivery treat me with the local papers each weekend? And as such it will fade under UV as I don't have access to the same materials as the original stickers are of. 

I don't expect the Royal Mail posties to sort out my mail for me. More especially now since a letter I received contained a cheque for £550 but looked very much like junk mail. Not only is it an impossible task, it's also a complete and utter waste of their time. People would soon start complaining if what the postie thought was junk mail wasn't and s/he either threw it away or took it back to the depot.

Not only do I open all letters now, whether they look like junk or not, I'd be very cross if the postie decided what was and was not junk on my behalf. That's my decision to make.

I'm afraid you're going to have to step up and sort out your own junk. It's not difficult and most of us can do it. 

Instead of having a 'no junk mail' sticker on your door why not replace it with one of those that says 'police - we don't buy on our doorstep' - or something similar? (Our friendly coppers gave us one when they came round one day so it's official). You can print as many signs as you like but sadly they won't be very effective.

You're flogging a long-dead horse here. Unless you're just having a laugh. In which case it's not very funny but well done for trying.