A commentary by a Victoria resident who is becoming increasingly curmudgeonly after 83 years of receiving unwanted mail.
I propose a solution to the paper recycling issue, namely, to intercept the paper closer to source.
I am urging municipalities to require Canada Post to install recycling bins at all of their community postal pickup sites.
If residents are required to provide appropriate containers for different types of recycling and to place them at the curb for periodic collection, then corporations, even federal ones, using municipal land should be required to do likewise.
Such onsite containers would allow residents to sort mailbox contents without bothering to take so much of it home.
I know we are supposed to be able to put a sticker on the box to decline flyers; however, much of my junk mail comes with my name and address as well as large stickers proclaiming my finalist status in some contest or other scam, and Canada Post seems obligated to deliver those pieces of mail.
Well, if anyone at Canada Post actually believes that people want to receive these bits of flim-flam, let them at least provide a recycling bin and let us decide what we want. The only problem with such a plan is that that discard container might have to be of such a size only a power lift would be able to empty it into the recycling truck.
Canada Post or the companies sending out the obnoxious items could even hire some folks to do sampling statistics to see how many of the mailouts are taken away and how many are discarded straight from the box.
I know those companies probably don’t really want hard evidence, but it should be available. If some person convinced one of my charities to let their company manage the donor contact and fundraising side of things (for a percentage I imagine) then I want to know how much of that percentage is wasted in mailouts that merely annoy the donors. I know, too, that not everyone receives mail at a community mailbox, but Canada Post is working hard to see that all of us soon will.
Apartment buildings and condos have their own recycling collection bins in the basement, but a blue box right in the mailbox foyer would give an immediate specific answer to the question of who really wants which of those pieces of mail.
By asking our municipal councils to take action now, we can forestall this flood of junk mail that changes hands so many times. The next step of course will be to convince advertisers and charities to stop using up forests of paper in the whole wasteful, annoying process.
This is an opportunity for all of you readers to participate in an exercise that will directly address your well-being. The next time you find yourself fuming over that armload of junk mail you’re carting home, set it aside and write a letter to your municipality.
Someone at that office will actually read your letter and pass it on to council. You will feel so much better, and if enough of us write those letters we may be able to divert or even stop that junk mail avalanche.
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