Stopjunkmail.org is a great resource. Built for people in the San Francisco Bay area, the site is useful for anyone with a US postal address. It is free and gives you what you need — including form letters and contact information — to reduce the amount of trash your letter carrier stuffs into your box every day. Why take the time to try and stop it? It’s just another example of the green win/win. First, you don’t want to be the garbage can for this stuff. “Pre-Approved” credit offers and other junk mail with our names and personal information put us at risk for identity theft. It is estimated that we spend 8 hours a year just sorting through it and disposing of it. Plus: 100 million trees per year end up as junk mail which ends up as trash. 20 billion gallons of water are uesd each year to produce this mail. $320 million of local taxes are used to dispose of junk mail each year. (Sources: greendimes.com, 41pounds.org, New American Dream)

The Federal Trade Commission offers insturctions on how to cut off those dangerous “Pre-Approved” credit card offers here.

April 28 update: Yesterday, I told my letter carrier about my efforts to reduce my junk mail. She looked doubtful. “Well, good luck,” she said.