I am not an environmentalist or a tree hugger by any means, but seeing all these phone books makes me think of all the trees it must have taken to make all the phonebooks that lay at each door.
Doing some research I found that some sites (www.whitepages.com) claim that upwards of 5 million trees are cut down each year to make phone books and that only 22 percent of those phone books are properly recycled. Others claim that they are now mainly made using only recycled paper. Regardless whether it's recycled or not, it's just a massive waste of energy, the carbon footprint it takes to create and distribute them eliminates all good the recycled paper does.
My wife and I were talking about phonebooks and were trying to think of who still even uses phonebooks anymore. Other than the elderly, people without computers or Internet connections, or those who still use pay phones, if you can find one; just use Google or Bing or any other generic semi popular search engine via the World Wide Web.
In a world of environmental issues, ozone layers opening, ice caps melting, and truths being inconvenient, I don't know how there isn't an option for the phonebooks. I think the government needs to create an opt-in/opt-out system. Everybody get mailed a prepaid stamped card with a code, you can then fill it out and send it back, or go online and fill out a form if you want a phonebook. No form, no phonebook, it's that simple.
Until that happens I guess I'll just continue to throw mine in the recycle the minute I get one. That is until I have kids and need a cheap booster seat.
P.S. A friend of mine posted this video on Facebook today from YouTube. Its what got me to write this today. It is essentially what I do with it when it comes as well.
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