Reading Greens are running an information campaign to reduce the amount of unwanted mail delivered in the town.

On average, each UK household receives 18 items of junk mail every week.

21 billion junk mail items are distributed to UK households on average every year.

The annual total of unsolicited mail and hand-delivered flyers in the UK weighs about 550,000 tonnes. The vast majority of this is unsolicited unaddressed junk mail.

Reading Greens have produced an information sheet telling people of four ways in which they can reduce the amount of junk mail coming through their letterboxes. They are taking this sheet door to door in East Reading.

The schemes and ideas mentioned on the sheet are:

1. Mail preference service – this stops personally-addressed unsolicited advertising. www.mpsonline.org.uk

2. Royal Mail opt out – this stops junk mail delivered by your postman. 0845 7950950

3. Putting a 'No junk mail' sticker on your door.

4. Opt out of the edited electoral register that the council sells to private companies for marketing purposes. 0118 9390900

Green Park Ward campaigner Rob White who missed out on becoming Reading's first Green councillor by just 20 votes this year said:

"This is a really easy and positive campaign. Loads of people are really fed up with the amount of junk mail they receive that just goes straight into their bin."

"In some of the worst hit areas people can get home to find upwards of 5 pieces of junk mail on their door mat in just a day!"

"We estimate that if you do all four things on our leaflet you can reduce the amount of junk mail coming through by about 80%."

ENDS

Notes for the Editor

1. For more information please contact Rob White on 07985 923938 or 0118 950 4062.