Phone books: What to do if you opted out but still got one

| Environment | West Seattle news

Just out of the WSB inbox, from Joe in Arbor Heights:

Dex phone books are here again. After all of the opt-out hype and after three other times of contacting Dex and requesting that I not be delivered phone books, the kid (who appeared too young to even be working) attempted to deliver another archaic Dex phone book to my residence until I hollered out the window for him to go away. What do we have to do?

If you have opted out through the new service that’s officially partnered with the city, you’re advised to sign into your account and file a complaint.

10:41 AM: We mentioned this on Twitter and Councilmember Mike O’Brien tweeted that he’s interested if this happens to you.

coffee July 19, 2011 (11:13 am)

Is that only if you reside within the city proper? What happens if you are out of the city limits?

WSJEEP July 19, 2011 (11:36 am)

just put it in the recycling bin. Its not such a big deal.

ummm July 19, 2011 (11:53 am)

WSJEEP- No, it’s isn’t really difficult to recycle an unwanted phone book. It is, however, difficult to regrow trees that were cut down to make unwanted phone books that people have already made a point of saying they do not want delivered to their homes.

tmo July 19, 2011 (12:19 pm)

We received them too even though we opted out.

Agree with ummm. Just plain waistful.

My recycle bin is already overflowing without unwanted phone books.

JB July 19, 2011 (12:20 pm)

Recycling phone books costs Seattle utilities rate payers over $350,000 per year (can’t find the original source cited by Councilman O’Brien). To me that level of waste is a “big deal”. This does not include any of the costs indirectly incurred in waste of paper and fuel to produce and distribute the books. Our household has opted out and did not receive any books this year.

C July 19, 2011 (12:48 pm)

Himmmm…. a good idea would be to hire people who speak & read english…..eveytime I have encountered the phone delivery people….it has been a team ( family ) scattering out of a van. No list in hand, no idea what their doing except taking a book to every house on the block their on.

Mo July 19, 2011 (1:05 pm)

I signed up to opt out, but noticed there was a pre-printing deadline in order to not receive phone books this year. I missed four of the six deadlines, but will complain if I receive them after this summer.
I soak mine in a bucket of water and then throw them in the worm bin for now.
How can we opt out of all the coupon flyers?

JB July 19, 2011 (2:41 pm)

@Mo – That’s gotta be a pretty heft worm bin! As for the coupons, I’ve asked the USPS multiple times and they’ve given a pretty consistent answer. “No, there isn’t an opt out.” Basically, the USPS sells the right to stuff your box with crap to defray their operating costs. If you have a private box with a third party or use a service like EarthClass mail you can get away from the junk, but you pay a fee for the box/service.

The Jester July 19, 2011 (3:26 pm)

Put them into the recycling bin? At my poorly designed (2007) apartment building, all the refuse bins are always full. I did the other residents a favor, gathered up all the unwanted DEX trash left on doorknobs, and filled up the recycling dumpster with them. Community service in action! Be sure to do your part.

service dog academy July 19, 2011 (4:35 pm)

can we take them all down to nickelsville to burn for fuel?

Ken July 19, 2011 (4:55 pm)

It is a big deal to me. I have my baseball bat and spray can of red paint by the door :)

Daddy July 19, 2011 (6:01 pm)

Just to clarify-it really isn’t that difficult to grow back the the renewable resource (trees) that are needed to make phone books. It does suck tho when you dont want one and get one anyway and it is litter. Mine went in the recycle bin. Seriously, who uses phonebooks nowadays anyways? Get it on the ballot and turn that 300,000 elsewhere, like fixing potholes on 99 and 35th.

SaraJeanQueen July 19, 2011 (7:10 pm)

@JB: thanks for the comment on the coupons. That drives me CRAZY. My mailbox is constantly full of them, not only from grocery stores and fast food restaurants, but big West Seattle-area booklets that are such a waste of resources. I literally have a pile in my kitchen every week I have to take out to recycling (none of which I use).
I wish there were a way to get rid of the coupon mess… grrr.

owen July 20, 2011 (12:01 am)

You may have used Catalog Choice to opt out of Seattle phone books. It’s well worth checking out their other services for junk mail: you can opt out of individual catalogs and mailings (including ValPak) for free, or make a small donation and sign up for their Unlisting Service. The Unlisting Service cut our volume of junk mail substantially.

Mo July 20, 2011 (9:37 am)

If you don’t want your coupon inserts, list them on craigslist, or talk to a neighbor. Someone might want to come get them every week, in order to have more coupons.

Iris Williams July 28, 2011 (12:43 pm)

What a waste of time! I opted out and I still received the phone books. When I went to file a complaint, it showed I ONLY opted out 30 days ago ( 3 days AFTER I could opt out) and it will be honored next year! I have a very poor opinion of DEX. It’s a total waste of resources and my time.

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