August 31st, 2009

By Ashley Phillips
Green Right Now

If it feels like you are finding a new phonebook on your door step every week and yet, you can’t remember the last time you opened one to get a number, listen up. The industry may be walking away, albeit in baby steps, from its paper-wasting ways.

These days there are multiple ways to get a phone number without having to thumb through a directory. With sites like www.yellowpages.com and www.superpages.com many people are turning away from print phone books and using online versions. There are even free phonebook applications for phones such as the iPhone and Blackberrys.

This is a trend that even phonebook providers are waking up to. On August 13, the Yellow Pages Association and the Association of Directory Publishers launched a national opt-out program. “Yellowpagesoptout.com makes it simple for consumers to find information about managing home delivery of print directories,” said Neg Norton, president, Yellow Pages Association.

It is simple. Go to www.yellowpagesoptout.com to enter your zip code. The site pulls up the list of providers for your area. Some publishers have direct links to stop delivery, while others require that you call them. This allows users to lower the number of phonebooks they receive yearly or simple stop all print delivery.

You’ll still be able to get “the yellow pages”.

“Our local data is available in a number of ways, including print phone books, Internet Yellow Pages, Google, and Yahoo! Local, for example.” Norton said. “Whatever way consumers choose to find a local business, chances are the last mile of the search was supported by Yellow Pages – whether the consumer knows it or not.”

There are areas that are testing out a Yellow Pages-only pilot program. A hardcopy of the yellow pages would be distributed to consumers, with a cd-rom of the white pages. Consumers would still be able to request to receive a hardcopy of the white pages if they preferred. ”In areas where the Yellow Pages-only delivery has been tried, an average of 1 percent of subscribers requested paper copies of the White Pages,” said Don Sadler, AT&T Spokesman. AT&T Florida is getting on board with the program this fall in four of their major markets: West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Miami.

And if you do prefer print versions to virtual phonebooks, you will be pleased to know that the print versions are becoming more eco-friendly. The paper used contains 40% recycled content, while the other 60% is a byproduct of sawmills.

If you don’t recycle your old phonebooks, they are either gathering dust on your desk or taking up space in area landfills, neither of which are desirable.

Need help figuring out where and how to recycle? The Yellow Pages site has tips.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media