Everyone knows the unaddressed advertising brochures in the mailbox. These are not only annoying, but also a considerable waste of resources, says Deutsche Umwelthilfe.
Every year billions of unaddressed advertising brochures end up in the mailboxes of German households. Based on data from Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), it shows the amounts of resources and energy used to produce these brochures: 42 billion liters of water, over four billion kWh of energy and 1.6 million tons of wood.
According to research by the DUH, around half of all citizens currently receive unsolicited advertising mail, although they actually do not want it. According to DUH, if unwanted advertising mail were not used, up to 535,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents could be saved just for the paper production of these brochures. This would correspond to the annual CO2 emissions of 46,000 citizens.
As an alternative to the status quo, the DUH proposes a so-called opt-in procedure. Only consumers who want them will receive advertising brochures. At the moment, consumers who do not want to receive unaddressed advertising have to put a sticker on their mailboxes stating that they do not want them. The opt-in procedure would reverse current practice.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
