Print Yellow Pages Environmental Summary
good post by Michael Kust of TMP on efforts by industry to be environmentally sensative:
Overall, the creation of a print Yellow Pages directory is less harmful to the environment than one might think. In my opinion, the industry has taken its awareness of the environment to the next level by allowing households to opt out of receiving a directory they do not use.
Post also provides a link to a study by TMP on local search usage.
Hawaiin Elementary School Rewarded for Recycling Efforts
Kudos to Yellow Pages publisher – The Berry Company for recognizing the St. Joseph Elementary School with a check for $700 for first place in this year’s “Think Yellow, Go Green Telephone Directory Recycling Contest”. The contest included over 50 schools from five neighboring islands (Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui and Molokai).
The school collected nearly 7,000 pounds of directories, the equivalent of more than 2,300 phone books. In total, Hawaii schools helped The Berry Company collect and recycle more than 105 tons of outdated directories during the 2009 contest.
Full article link here….
Yellow Pages Group Releases New ecoGuide
The Canadian based Yellow Pages Group began inclusion of its new “ecoGuide” which is located within the first pages of the 2009-2010 Calgary Yellow Pages. The ecoGuide was created in partnership with Earth Day Canada and The City of Calgary. The guide, which is also available online at http://calgary.yellowpages.ca, is intended to be a local reference with helpful tips on responsible consumption. It includes:
- a directory to Reuse & Recycle covering more than 400 household items such as tires, computers, electronics, mattresses, carpets and smoke detectors) to be disposed of ecologically and a list of addresses of where to take them
- a list of materials that are accepted/refused in recycling bins, along with details on the collection of green and hazardous domestic waste
- 35 ecological certifications to help consumers make more responsible purchases
- 15 simple ways to reduce our environmental impact (composting, tempering temperature reduce the water consumption, etc.) while saving fuel, electricity, water and of course, money.
The Recycle and Reuse directory should be a useful tool for residents to use in their daily efforts to support the environment. For example, is a pizza box recyclable? Apparently in some municipalities it is not, but it is accepted in The City of Calgary’s recycling program.
Kudo’s to YPG for this new consumer tool. The full press release can be found here:
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Yellow-Pages-Group-TSX-YLO.UN-1054802.html
Louisiana Kids Recycle Old Directories
Good to see the effort from Tioga Junior High School students in the Rapides Parish schools in Louisiana, who collected 5,884 books for the annual telephone book recycling collection program. Link to article: http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20091005/NEWS01/910050319
We can get books recycled if we can increase awareness of the recycling programs in local communities, especially those that don’t have curbside recycling programs.
Cincinnati Bell Directory Adds Recycling Program
Kudos to the Cincinnati Reds and Cincinnati Bell Directory for working together on a new program to encourage their baseball fans to recycle old phone books/directories.
All fans that brought an old phone book to the Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers series which ran August 28-30 received a voucher good for a buy-one-get-one free ticket offer to the Reds vs. Florida Marlins game on Sept. 19.
Even Reds outfielder Chris Dickerson got involved — he is the founder and chief executive officer of WePlayGreen.org. Dickerson wants to spread the word about the importance of recycling and alternative energy.
For more, go to: http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Recycle-Old-Phone-Books-Get-Rewarded-By-The-Reds/Qtt7oL6aYE2g1e0DRcoSRA.cspx
Yellow Page Industry Launches www.YELLOWPAGESOPTOUT.com Site
from their joint press release:
The Yellow Pages industry’s two leading associations announced today the launch of www.yellowpagesoptout.com to help consumers choose which print directories they want delivered to their door steps.
“We want to give consumers a choice on how they access our local business information, whether it’s through print directories, Internet Yellow Pages, mobile apps, or search engines,” said Neg Norton, president, Yellow Pages Association.
“Yellowpagesoptout.com makes it simple for consumers to find
information about managing home delivery of print directories.” Yellowpagesoptout.com aggregates delivery information for Yellow Pages publishers in one place, making consumer choice simple, secure and effective. Users type in their zip code and receive a list of local publishers with the appropriate steps to stop delivery or adjust the number of directory products they receive.Because some consumers receive directories from more than one publisher, a critical feature of Yellowpagesoptout.com is the freedom for consumers to truly customize delivery. With Yellowpagesoptout.com, consumers can decide to continue receiving all directory products available in their area, keep some but not others, or stop all directory deliveries.
“Research shows that the vast majority want to keep at least one print directory in their home – no surprise since consumers reference print directories more than 12 billion times per year,” said Larry Angove, president and CEO, Association of Directory Publishers. “Yellowpagesoptout.com is all about choice. Consumers can review the list of publishers in their area and determine which products they want to receive.”Protecting Privacy a Critical Concern
A number of third‐party Web sites not affiliated with Yellow Pages or telephone companies offer to add consumers to do not deliver lists on their behalf.“We are asking consumers to use caution when providing personal information to third‐party Web sites,” Angove said. “It’s best if consumers work directly with the publishers that deliver to them, and Yellowpagesoptout.com is an easy starting point for that process.”
The industry’s two leading associations, the Yellow Pages Association and the Association of Directory Publishers, joined together to announce the Web site. Yellowpageoptout.com is managed by the Yellow Pages Association, which will work with members of both associations to ensure information on the site
is up to date.Innovation Promoting Transformation
Today, Yellow Pages companies are transforming from directory publishers to central players in the fastgrowing local search industry, helping connect small businesses with consumers who are most ready to make a purchase.“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.”
People in Cleveland Want Those Print White Pages
Most of the paper atheists that visit this site love to scream that “most” people don’t want phone books, that they are obsolete, that they are environmentally damaging, blah blah blah.
So AT&T, the largest publisher has been systematically asking local Public Utilities Commissions, which by law REQUIRE THEM AS A TELCO TO PROVIDE WHITE PAGES TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY THEY SERVICE, for permission to stop delivering the print white pages since their usage had most definitely droppedoff substantially. You would think most of the naysayers would be hailing this action. But instead the silence has been deafening.
The most interesting recent news on this front comes from the Cleveland area where AT&T received permission from the PUC of Ohio in February to stop delivering its “Real White Pages” to every household in its coverage area. Following an article in the local newspaper (The Plain Dealer) on Wednesday announcing this new policy, AT&T got so many calls from people who still wanted copies that it overloaded their call center. Customers reported waited on hold for an hour or longer when they called 1-800-346-4377, and some calls were even rerouted to other call centers. The company has had to add extra staff to handle the requests.
So much for no one wanting those print phone books
Kudos to Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages Directories Recycling Program
HYP Media Finance rolled out a “Think Yellow, Go Green” Recycling Contest at more than 50 schools on the islands of Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, and Molokai. During the month of May students were encouraged to participate in the contest with those schools that collected the most outdated directories per student winning cash prizes. Link to full news article here.
In total some 16 tons of outdated directories were collected which follows 19 tons of phone books collected earlier this year in Oahu. Now that’s some really great results to take note of.
Congrats to the students and the Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages Directories
CanPages Sets the Record Straight
To its credit, BCBusinessOnline.ca in a recent story became one of the few media sources to present the real facts on print Yellow Pages. As the article noted:
- But even in the Age of Google, it would appear, there’s still a market for the proverbial doorstop. Two independent U.S. studies confirm that approximately 70 per cent of the population uses print directories regularly to find local businesses.
- “The Internet is not the be all and end all of local searches,” proclaims Olivier Vincent, president and CEO of Burnaby-based Canpages Inc.,…….When the basement is full of water, he points out, you’re not going to boot up the computer; you probably won’t even find Joe the plumber online.
- “We hate waste just like everybody else,” Vincent declares. He points out that directory publishing supports the forest industry, which he says is the sole source of tree planting in B.C. He also notes an audit by Tree Canada that certified Canpages as carbon neutral by virtue of the thousands of trees it plants every year.
Which source offers the community information on how to be green?
The print Yellow Pages of course. Channel 2 News in Reno, NV (link) offers this insight:
If you are looking for ways to go green, look no further than your phone book.
In all the yellow pages, you will find a 32 page guide with tips on how to become more environmentally friendly.
They include everything from where to recycle things like paper and plastic to information on the Lockwood Landfill. “Whether you want your phone books or not, everyone gets one so they are good information and you can also find information on illegal dumping,” said Maia Dickerson with Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful.
