Bay Area cities and counties fighting junk mail

By Adam Martin, Bay City News Service

January 29, 2006

The San Francisco Department of the Environment, in coalition with other Bay Area counties and cities, has undertaken an advertising campaign aimed at reducing the amount of junk mail flowing into the area's mailboxes.

The campaign, sponsored by the Bay Area Recycling Outreach Coalition, started about two weeks ago, according to department spokesman Mark Westlund. It will continue for about another four weeks.

The campaign includes print and radio ads that urge consumers to write to companies that send them junk mail and ask to be taken off those mailing lists.

The coalition's Web site includes a downloadable kit that includes postcards and letter templates that can be printed and mailed to the major clearinghouses.

Westlund said the coalition has been in existence for about 12 to 15 years and has undertaken campaigns annually to try to address common environmental problems like waste management.

The coalition can be found on the Web at http://www.stopjunkmail.com

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