Internet Phone Book Co. Encourages Ban on Printed Books
WhitePages has reported that the Ban The Phone Book campaign has surpassed 12,000 signatures in less than one month following survey results indicating that 81 percent of consumers are willing to embrace "opt-in" programs to receive the white pages phone book.
According to WhitePages, if every U.S. household stopped receiving the white pages phone book, millions of trees and up to $17 million in taxpayer funded recycling fees would be saved every year.
"Whether it's an online directory like WhitePages, social networks, or search engines, there are numerous free alternatives to the printed white pages phone book," said Alex Algard, founder and chief executive officer of WhitePages. "Consumers can get everything provided by the white pages phone book online for free and so much more, regardless of location or device."
One of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of eliminating the white pages phone books is that laws in many states require phone companies to publish and deliver white pages phone books to every landline subscriber. With Georgia joining Ohio, Florida and Missouri to embrace opt-in programs, WhitePages hopes to use the growing momentum of Ban the Phone Book, as well as its Facebook fan page where nearly 2,700 people have joined, to get more states to eliminate the automatic delivery of the white pages phone book to save the environment.
For consumers interested in curbing the unsolicited mass printing and automatic delivery of white pages phone books, BanThePhoneBook.org offers the following recommendations:
1. Sign the Ban the Phone Book Opt-In Petition to show support for developing opt-in programs.
2. Recycle your white pages phone books. Less than 20 percent of white pages phone books are recycled nationally per year according to WhitePages.
3. Become familiar with free online and mobile alternatives to using the phone book.
4. Use social media to become a BanThePhoneBook advocate.
5. And if you're really outraged, write your state representative.