The Black and Gold City Goes Green

Slim down that bulk!

Reduce your bulk mail

We’re none too surprised when neighbors tell us that they never even knew that their junk mail could be cancelled – they’ve always just assumed that they would eternally have information on holiday sales and credit card offers in their mailbox.

We understand. With so many different kinds of bulk mailings, it’s difficult to map out a plan of action. But taking action is important – the Postal Service says that bulk mail accounts for over 100 billion pieces of mail each year and 6.5 million tons of paper, so it has a huge environmental impact. It takes a little effort, but there are ways to cut your mail load, reducing your heat-trapping gas pollution 40 pounds per year.

All of the following services are free of charge!

Advertising mail. Cancel a big chunk of bulk mail by signing on to DMAChoice.org. It's easy and convenient -- you pick what mail you want and cancel the rest. Expect two to three months before mailings end.

Credit card offers. If you're lucky enough to get tons of pre-approved credit card offers, visit OptOutPrescreen.com to securely clear your name. Sleep better knowing that your personal information is safer.

Bills and bank statements. We wish we could give you ways to stop these altogether -- especially the bills! But you can contact your financial institution and creditors to sqitch to paperless e-billing, which will also help you keep your personal info, well, personal.

Catalogs. A great new service that makes cancelling catalogs easy is CatalogChoice.org. This group has worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Wildlife Federation and will cancel only the catalogs you don't want.

Local and other mailings.These mailings may take some research and persistence but can keep you from receiving so many promotional materials week after week. Locate a customer service number on the mailing or online to contact (mailers such as Publisher's Clearinghouse have readily available service numbers.) Keep your mailing handy -- customer service may need your customer service number or whatever crazy variation of your name that they have on file.


Slim down that bulk! Reduce your bulk mail We’re none too surprised when neighbors tell us that they never even knew that their junk mail could be cancelled – they’ve always just assumed that they would eternally have information on holiday sales and credit card offers in their mailbox. We understand. With so many different kinds of bulk mailings, it’s difficult to map out a plan of action. But taking action is important – the Postal Service says that bulk mail accounts for over 100 billion pieces of mail each year and 6.5 million tons of paper, so it has a huge environmental impact. It takes a little effort, but there are ways to cut your mail load, reducing your heat-trapping gas pollution 40 pounds per year. All of the following services are free of charge! Advertising mail. Cancel a big chunk of bulk mail by signing on to DMAChoice.org. It's easy and convenient -- you pick what mail you want and cancel the rest. Expect two to three months before mailings end. Credit card offers. If you're lucky enough to get tons of pre-approved credit card offers, visit OptOutPrescreen.com to securely clear your name. Sleep better knowing that your personal information is safer. Bills and bank statements. We wish we could give you ways to stop these altogether -- especially the bills! But you can contact your financial institution and creditors to sqitch to paperless e-billing, which will also help you keep your personal info, well, personal. Catalogs. A great new service that makes cancelling catalogs easy is CatalogChoice.org. This group has worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Wildlife Federation and will cancel only the catalogs you don't want. Local and other mailings.These mailings may take some research and persistence but can keep you from receiving so many promotional materials week after week. Locate a customer service number on the mailing or online to contact (mailers such as Publisher's Clearinghouse have readily available service numbers.) Keep your mailing handy -- customer service may need your customer service number or whatever crazy variation of your name that they have on file.	Here at the Black and Gold City Goes Green campaign, we know that small actions add up to make a big difference. The campaign was launched in March 2009 by Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) and is part of a larger effort called the Pittsburgh Climate Initiative. The Initiative aims to get communities, businesses, higher education institutions, and the municipal government to cut global warming pollution in the Black and Gold City. We want you to share what you do to make your home, workplace, and community greener. See how your actions cut global warming pollution in our region. Pittsburghers are finding out that our region’s poor air quality is literally killing us. We want to help you fight back. See how your actions also impacts the air pollution that affects the well-being of you, your family, and our community. Want more information? Friend or follow us for up-to-the-minute details about fighting global warming or sign up for our monthly informational emails by contacting us at BlackandGold@PennFuture.org. Oakland Winter Blitz With some outstanding volunteers from Pitt's Free the Planet, Oakland residents (many of them Pitt students themselves) were surprised in early December to receive bags full of green goodies. Many volunteers also acted as directors in the taping of this short video of the blitz: 2011: A Success! This year, there's a new reason to call Pittsburgh the City of Champions. Every action that our neighbors made around the city added up to make a huge difference: over 2.3 million pounds of heat-trapping gases will be saved each year because of the actions you took in 2011! See how your actions added up with others in this region. Special thanks to those who helped make the Mount Washington, Lawrenceville, Northside, Friendship, and Oakland Neighborhood Blitzes great.