Update:

I try and live plastic-free, and I killed my own business (a profitable ecopaper-printed magazine) to go online and save paper, shipping = oil, coal. So it’s with joy that I greeted the sight of two plastic-bagged yellow pages on my front porch this week. And, yes, I spent the time to get on their do-not-deliver list. ~ Waylon Lewis

So, the below sadly appears to still be timely:

We here at elephant received the below plea to post from Dave Rogers, our longtime friend and advisor, and the man behind Local Bunny. Having just received my own blue plastic bag plus thick yellow book that I didn’t need, and trying to lead an eco-responsible life, I was and am infuriated every time I receive such old-school physical spam on my doorstep. The things weight a ton, the plastic bags will be around when your grandchildren’s grandchildren have grandchildren—and Google and Yelp long agao supplanted the usefulness of these books for all but a small percentage of our population. I was so angry, in fact, that I picked the bag up and hurled it into the street from whence it came (and, sheepishly, went to retrieve and recycle it one minute later, when I’d cooled down).

And many others are angry, too (see Facebook image at bottom).

Solution? Get with the times. Have an opt-in/opt-out policy for all. Done. Why don’t they do it? Because it would be acknowledging the crumbling lie that is their outdated business model. Oh, and they don’t give a shiite about the earth.

I have a right to say that, btw, since I killed my entire business and took it online, shedding staff, car, house and salary for a year as I transitioned my business to a fully green distribution model ~ ed.

Blue Plastic Bag, thick Book x 50 million —-> trash or recycle bins = Dex Yellow Pages.

via Dave Rogers.

“Phone books land on door step of everyone in Boulder in a big blue plastic bag. To ease the pain (and ward off attacks) of greenies the book says, “Find recycling options: order or stop delivery of this directory. DexKnows.com/green.

But of course that site is not only typical greenwash pointlessness (he who doesn’t know where to recycle already doesn’t care to recycle AND GET THIS there is no place to to cancel ordering the book as they state on the  cover.

Dave’s re-reply:

Thanks for the reply. It is unfortunate that the information you have in the email [above] in no way matches the information that Dex uses to promote the “Green-ness” of the large books in plastic bags I was forced to receive.

Additionally the steps you suggest [above] do not actually clearly offer me a way to opt out for next year’s book, and clearly it is too late for this year’s book.

In addition, the site you point me to requests detailed personal information to take an action. You didn’t need that info to deposit garbage/recycling at my door but request it from me without explanation or having an accessible privacy policy—The 404 error when I click on that link doesn’t make me feel comfy about delivering my data.

This is but an exercise in futility, which is what DEX would prefer—since if everyone could easily opt-out that would be bad for business.

Dave

Bonus, via Facebook friends: