Yellow Pages Goes Green, an online business directory owned by Yellow Pages Directory, Inc., has joined hands with Green Chamber of Commerce to initiate a call to action aimed at promoting conservation and to reduce waste in the production and distribution of printed yellow pages books.
Yellow Pages Goes Green encourages governmental leaders across the length and breadth of the United States to join the Green movement. It urges governmental leaders in both urban and rural settings to help preserve the environment by lending their support for passing local legislation, which details that publishers of printed yellow directories adhere to opt-in or opt-out requirements.
In an effort to increase public awareness of the opt-out option, Yellow Pages Goes Green has asked local jurisdictions across the country to post a link to http://www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org on their individual governmental websites.
Under the opt-in model, scheduled to commence on May 1, 2012, delivery of printed yellow directories will be restricted to those parties who have either made a prior request or who personally agree to be present at the time of delivery. This has been introduced as an eco-friendly initiative as it not only restricts the distribution of yellow books, but also results in savings in the carting and recycling fees.
The opt-out registries, recently implemented by the city of Seattle, resulted in close to nearly 250,000 books being cancelled. Under the opt-out registries, companies that deliver printed yellow books to citizens, who have decided to opt out through the city's webpage, can be fined $125 per book. However, if a user still wants a directory, he or she has the option of requesting a particular book based on their requirement from among the different books available. This again cuts down on indiscriminate distribution of unsolicited yellow pages books.
A highlighted drawback of the opt-out model is that it requires active participation of the community. Unless a user visits the http://www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org webpage and registers to "opt-out" from receiving the latest Yellow Pages print edition, companies will go on delivering the books. Thus, it is imperative that awareness is created and the public at large is educated about the ills of indiscriminate distribution of these books. To address this growing menace, Yellow Pages urges civic leaders across the United States to join hands in saying “no” to unwanted yellow books.
For more information on Yellow Pages Goes Green, please visit http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org.
Calvin Azuri is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Calvin’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
