With Junk Mail Bill Stalled, New Report Details Effects

A bill to stop the delivery of unwanted mail has stalled for now in New York State, a development welcomed by the U.S. Postal Service, which has opposed the legislation since its introduction in 2007.

Meanwhile, an environmental nonprofit organization, ForestEthics, published a report yesterday detailing the detrimental environmental impact of junk mail and a petition signed by about 60,000 people who support a "do not mail" registry. The report also cites a 2007 Zogby poll that found that 89% of Americans support the idea of a registry.

Since 2007, 19 states have introduced legislation that would create a "do not mail" registry similar to the "do not call" list that prevents telemarketers from calling people who prefer not to receive such calls. The "do not mail" legislation, however, was not discussed on the floor in most of the states in which the bills were introduced this year. The "do not call" bill became law nationwide in 2003.

State Senator Carl Kruger, a Democrat of Brooklyn, said the bill he introduced in 2007 has been tabled, but that he will continue to pursue the legislation.

"Certainly I want to try again to push it in the January session," Mr. Kruger said. "I think people should have the right to decide whether or not they get third-class mail."

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service, Joanne Veto, said the bill has not yet passed in any state because people realize the economic impact of what she called the "$900 billion" mailing industry.

Only a fraction of mail ends up in landfills, she said, and the postal service lets recipients choose, to a certain extent, the mail they want to receive.

Unsolicited mail is different from unwanted phone calls, Ms. Veto said. "Mail doesn't interrupt your dinner," she said.

"Advertising mail doesn't kill forests, but eliminating it will help kill thousands of American jobs," a spokeswoman for the Direct Marketing Association said in a statement responding to the ForestEthics report.

The largest postal union, which represents about 300,000 workers, also opposes the registry.