Junk Mail Weighs on Their Minds

Unless, of course, you're Pottery Barn. Catalogues are a symbol of our prosperity, of the endless choice that comes with being an American. We truly are a rich nation if we can support a new version of the Victoria's Secret catalogue every two weeks or a Williams-Sonoma catalogue that's as lavishly illustrated as an illuminated manuscript.

But 165 pounds a year per person?

The Direct Marketing Association says that far from harming the environment, catalogues help it, by reducing the number of cars headed to shopping malls. Direct mail, they say, accounts for only about 2 percent of the country's total municipal solid waste. Then there's the argument that junk mail keeps the Postal Service afloat.

"We certainly wouldn't want to see a drastic and expensive and unnecessary government program created that would probably do more harm than good," said the association's Pat Kachura .

I think it's inevitable that catalogues will diminish over time, do-not-mail list or not. As more and more people look online for product information, catalogues won't be needed. I don't know if the UPS truck driving to my house is better than me driving to the mall.

Margaret said she still keeps track of the catalogues she receives.

"It's about the same as it was by August of last year," she said. "I haven't gotten my totals collected, but it certainly hasn't declined at all."

Catalogue Rolling

Although there is no national do-not-mail registry, you can reduce the amount of unwanted solicitations you receive by visiting http://www.dmaconsumers.org . It costs $1 to register for the "Mail Preference Service." Direct Marketing Association members are required to strike those names when compiling their lists. To stop credit card offers or insurance come-ons, go to http://www.optoutprescreen.com .

As for stopping catalogues, it's straightforward, if labor-intensive: Call the toll-free number on the catalogue and ask to be stricken from the rolls.

For information on Junk Mail Awareness Week, go to http://www.newdream.org .