A pain in the postbox

Junk mail means litter to many. Photo / Janna Dixon

City residents get an estimated 20kg of junk mail in their letterboxes each year - the equivalent in weight of an average year-old baby.

The Herald on Sunday collected all the junk mail delivered to a central Auckland letterbox in the past six months.

At times it seemed the flyers and pamphlets had open slather on the box, with legitimate mail and newspapers fighting for space.

The junk mail included supermarket specials, flyers from real estate agents, takeaway menus and details of pilates classes.

By June 30, the total weight was 10kg, meaning by the end of the year, and taking into account extra flyers advertising Christmas campaigns, the total should easily reach twice that.

Auckland councils discussed bringing in a $20,000 fine for distributors who post mail in letterboxes clearly labelled 'no junk mail'. Only Auckland City Council passed the bylaw but it has never been enforced.

Zero Waste New Zealand Trust chief executive Jo Knight says there is a "huge amount of waste" going into the regions' letterboxes.

She says businesses should use online advertising instead. "It's a huge litter problem, I would like to see it become a digital business rather than in print."

Knight speculates that some deliverers of junk mail ignore signs on mailboxes because they get paid only for each flyer they deliver.

But while coming home from work to find your mailbox stuffed with junk is a pain for many, one distributor believes his business is having a renaissance thanks to the recession.

Doug Patel, owner of A1 Circulars in Auckland, says his staff are paid about 2 cents for each small flyer they deliver, and about 50 cents for larger ones.

Patel said the 10kg collected by the Herald on Sunday was "a pittance" and junk mail is a "service to the consumer".

He said the number of letterboxes with 'no junk mail' signs had dropped significantly because people want to receive the flyers so they can check out the specials on offer.

"There's a demand by the companies and there is still a demand by conscientious customers. If people want to save money they should look at them."

Patel, who has been in the circular business since 1964, described households who reject junk mails as "do-gooders", but his staff try to abide by their request.

"Sometimes they forget, we do find that happens."

Auckland City Council's spokesman Michael McQuillan said the council refers complaints to the Marketing Association.

The council will step in if a complainant is dissatisfied with the way the association has handled a complaint, but McQuillan says the bylaw has never been enforced.

The Marketing Association's code of practice for the distribution of unaddressed mail says junk mail can't be delivered to letterboxes where a sign requesting non-delivery is displayed or when a letter box is full. Rules also apply to free newspapers and must not be delivered to letterboxes displaying an 'addressed mail only' sign.

Association chief executive Sue McCarty said it received two or three complaints about junk mail a week. But McCarty said junk mail delivery was seen as "cost-effective marketing".

More junk mail than ever before

Darrin Mirabito has a simple way of dealing with most junk mail in his letterbox, he puts it in the bin.

The North Shore resident believed the rate of delivery had increased over the past couple of years.

"It's not just once a day, it's two or three times a day."

Mirabito said Christmas and end-of-year sales prompt even more unwanted items in his letterbox.

"When summer comes it's all on."

Despite the onslaught, he estimated he looks only at about 10 per cent of the mail, and the rest goes out to recycling every two weeks.

Although most junk mail is annoying, he doesn't want to put a 'no junk mail' sign on his letterbox because he finds the occasional leaflet helpful.

But the ads don't influence him during the weekly supermarket shop.

"People are looking for bargains, but you will buy something only if you really need it, not because of an ad."

And he questioned the need for some of the bigger stores to send out flyers advertising big brand appliances and whiteware.

"They're appliances that people don't buy often," he said.


Avoid junk mail

* Contact the Marketing Association at www.marketing.org.nz and fill in the do not mail request form.

* Put a 'no junk mail' or 'no circulars' notice on your letterbox. These can be bought at hardware stores.

* Put an 'addressed mail only' sign on your letterbox. This should stop the delivery of free newspapers as well as junk mail.

What do you think?

Email us at news@hos.co.nz