For more than a decade the Yellow Pages Association
(YPA) has asked some tough questions about how we can help
decrease our carbon footprint while still providing our valuable
services to businesses and consumers. We don’t have all the
answers yet, but below you can read about some of the tough questions
we’ve faced in our mission to become a more environmentally
progressive industry, and how we’ve worked to answer
them.
Who uses the Yellow
Pages?
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
reference print Yellow Pages directories more than 12 billion times
while Internet Yellow Pages sites receive 4.6 billion references each
year. In addition, Yellow Pages data feeds to local search tools
like Google and Yahoo! Local and can be accessed by consumers using
mobile applications.
But it’s not all about consumers.
We’re in business to help businesses, too. About 86 percent of
Yellow Pages users will make a purchase after using a
directory.
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Do consumers need Yellow
Pages?
More people use the Yellow Pages than own a car.
It’s become a part of American life that dates back more than 130
years. Yellow Pages directories – whether in print, online,
or on a mobile device – are the most accurate and complete
listings of local businesses, hands down.
By connecting consumers to the businesses in
their community, Yellow Pages products help small businesses grow and in
turn help local economies grow. That’s something we all want
and need!
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What happens to old
directories?
We have been working hard to make sure they land
in a recycling bin. Only a fraction of today’s landfills contain
Yellow Pages, thanks in large part to recycling and other efforts. The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that Yellow Pages directories
represent 0.3 percent of the municipal solid waste
stream.
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How can consumers
recycle phone books?
Each community has different recycling programs
and guidelines. While many locales offer curbside recycling, others have
designated drop-off times and locations. Reference the front or back of
your Yellow Pages or visit www.Earth911.org for
information on how and where to recycle Yellow Pages
directories.
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How are Yellow Pages
publishers reducing their carbon footprint?
Recycling is the first step. But we know
there’s more we can do. In 2007, the YPA in collaboration with
the Association of Directory
Publishers (ADP) sat down with national environmental
organizations and regional U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) offices to understand how the directories
industry could take its vigilance a step further.
These guidelines include things like making the
text in our directories safer by using soy-based ink.
Thanks to great strides made by the paper
industry, trees are not harvested to make directory paper. Yellow
Pages publishers are able to use paper containing 40% recycled
content. The other 60% comes from "residual chips," a byproduct of
sawmills left after logs are converted to lumber. Those chips become
paper pulp instead of going into landfills or being burned. Publishers
have also cut the amount of paper used in each book by 11 percent in the
past five years, from 22.5 pounds per book to as low as 18
pounds.
On top of all that, we’re also cutting our
water and power bills. YPA is working with national environmental groups
to reduce the amount of non-renewable resources our publishers use to
make and distribute their books.
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Does the Yellow Pages use
recycled paper?
Yellow Pages are made from 40 percent recycled
paper. But that’s not all. The paper industry has spent millions
to refine the way we make paper. After timber is cut, wood chips become
paper pulp instead of going into landfills or being burned. In the
lumber harvesting process, only trees that are leftover and not suitable
for lumber may be ground up and used for papermaking.
Publishers have also cut the amount of paper
used in each book by 11 percent in the past 5 years from 22.5 pounds per
book to as low as 18 pounds.
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How is the paper used in Yellow Pages directories
made?
The paper industry has purchased and installed costly systems to
produce recycled de-inked pulp. These systems recycle old telephone
directories and even old newspapers, keeping enormous amount of waste
paper out of landfills.
In addition to recycled pulp, directory paper contains fiber
primarily derived from "residual chips," a byproduct of sawmills left
after logs are converted to lumber. The chips become paper pulp instead
of going into landfills or being burned. It is simply uneconomical for
paper companies to cut down trees and grind them up for paper since
trees have a much higher value as lumber. Paper companies only use trees
that are damaged or otherwise unfit for use as lumber. These "trash"
trees would be left on the forest floor to rot if not used for the paper
in our directories.
Publishers have also reduced the basis weight of directory paper 11%
over the past 5 years from 22.5 pounds to as low as 18 pounds, thereby
reducing the volume of paper used and the amount of raw materials needed
to make directory papers.
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Can’t Yellow Pages
produce other non-print formats?
Yes, and they do. For those residents who prefer
to access directories digitally, Yellow Pages publishers offer Internet
Yellow Pages sites like yellowpages.com and superpages.com, and many
publishers offer the books on CD-ROM.
Publishers have also brought their directories
to mobile devices like iPhones and Blackberries. Consumers can
download YellowPages.com applications to enable them to search, map, and
contact directory listings right from their mobile device.
Publishers are continuing to develop and enhance
their databases for use wherever the market goes. Once the data is in a
digital format, it can be distributed in any number of ways: interactive
television, automotive navigation systems and new types of wireless
devices.
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Why do some people receive
more than one phone book?
It’s a competitive industry, and if you
receive more than one Yellow Pages directory, chances are that you live
in a thriving community.
Like all industries, competition makes sure that
the Yellow Pages you receive is useful and robust with feature-rich
products. Each publisher tailors its directory based on the needs of the
community, including providing information about local government
listings and emergency services.
You can select which publishers’
directories you receive at www.yellowpagesoptout.com.
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Why are phone books often
stacked in lobbies when they are delivered to apartment and/or other
multi-unit buildings?
Sometimes distribution to individual apartments
is not allowed by building management. Yellow Pages publishers work
collaboratively with building management to get their products into the
hands of residents.
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Can consumers stop the
delivery of Yellow Pages to their homes?
The Yellow Pages Association makes consumer
choice information easy to find at www.yellowpagesoptout.com.
The site was launched to help consumers communicate directly
with Yellow Pages publishers and request to stop delivery of the print
Yellow Pages to their home if they would prefer to use the Yellow Pages
in digital format.
Our Joint
Environmental Guidelines recommend that all publishers adopt
flexible directory distribution policies that allow people to cancel
their print Yellow Pages delivery. Our industry will continue to
work with national environmental groups and other interested parties to
ensure that the implementation of these Guidelines happens in a clear
and transparent manner.
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What is the environmental impact of Yellow Pages
directories?
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Yellow Pages
directories represent 0.3% of the municipal solid waste stream. In
comparison, standard mail and newspapers represent 2.3% and 4.3%,
respectively. (Source: Municipal Solid Waste in the United States, 2007
Facts and Figures, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
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