As part of the 'Don't let Devon go to waste' partnership, Decon County Council is asking residents to sign up to the Mail Preference Service to cut down on the amount of paper waste from junk mail.
With the average person receiving four kilogrammes of junk mail every year, Devon County Council’s ‘Don’t let Devon go to waste’ partnership encourages households to reduce their unwanted post by signing up to the Mailing Preference Service (MPS).
Beginning in June 2011, the ‘Ditch the Junk Mail’ campaign has gone from strength to strength, with the year’s initial target of 11,000 sign-ups considerably exceeded at 18,043. In total, nearly 129,000 people in Devon were registered with the MPS at the start of this year, saving the equivalent of over 500 tonnes of junk mail. It is hoped that a further 13,000 households will sign up this year.
Liz Jarvis, Senior Waste Manager for Devon County Council, explains why the council chose junk mail as a focus: “It’s measurable – so, for every person that signs up to the MPS, you get a kilogramme saving... While Devon is currently number one for recycling in the country, our level of waste in general is still quite high in comparison, so waste prevention is especially key for us and we really want to get that message across.”
She suggests that the strength of the ‘Don’t let Devon go to waste’ brand was one of the central drivers in the campaign: “People really do relate to it. We’ve tested that brand name and people like it in Devon. Well-tested and monitored campaigns are really important to us, and I’d definitely advise that for anybody.”
Above all, Liz puts the campaign’s success down to the visible benefit it provides to households: “Junk mail is a real nightmare for people for all sorts of reasons... because you’re helping people – providing a service they want, at the same time as talking about waste – they’re really happy to sign up.”
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