Comments on: .making yellow pages green*

By: volquetes

volquetes — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:02:03 +0000

hi!! i like this blog, and kisses from Argentina!!!!!
It´s very intersting your comment.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:22:36 +0000

A big misperception you have is only new materials are used to create yellow page directories. A common practice among publishers is to use recycled materials and wood byproducts that would normally be burned or end up in a landfill. Moreover, publishers are utilizing soy based inks instead of petroleum based ink to reduce environmental impact.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, yellow page directories make up only .3 percent of the municipal solid waste stream, which comes in significantly lower than magazines (1%), newspapers (4.9%), standard mail (2.4%) and tissues & paper towels (1.4%)!

As far as using the directories – I am 26 years old, have access to a computer and internet 24 hours a day and still use my yellow pages at least once a week.

By: joycekim

joycekim — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 23:13:02 +0000

hi letsbereal

i think the big difference between newspapers, bottles, etc and yellow pages is apparent. we, as individual consumers, go and affirmatively buy the beverages that come in bottles, order the newspapers, or purchase the items that are packaged. however, we do not take any affirmative action to get the yellow pages and white pages delivered en masse to my front door. make sense?

By: letsbreal

letsbreal — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:28:12 +0000

My tax dollars pay for curbside recycling of newspapers, which I don’t read. Bottles, both plastic and glass from the beverage industry are also recycled curbside. Cardboard for packaging used in other products are ok in the recycling bin.

Yet I don’t see any of those industries jumping in to help “municipal governments that have to go about gathering and recycling” those items.

Aren’t you being a little selective in who you are targeting??

By: joycekim

joycekim — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:31:27 +0000

@steve – more than an assumption to advocate change in the present printing and delivery system? or more than an assumption to say we should have opt-in delivery?

i think that the debate between opt-in and opt-out systems for yellow pages delivery is a fair debate to be had – there are valid arguments for availability of information to people without internet access. however, i think it would be fair to say that we should reexamine the system that requires delivery of several yellow pages to every address in the US and by several competing publishing companies. it is an undue burden environmentally because of the paper and ink and financially, to municipal governments that have to go about gathering and recycling all the rejected books.

but i would like to see some good data on how many people use their yellow pages on a regular basis (other than data gathered by yellow page publishers themselves for marketing purposes)- it would be an interesting study on american consumer choices.

i know i may be in the minority, but in the past 3 years, i think i used my yellow pages once – and that was because i couldnt reach something on a top shelf that was just a few inches out of reach;)