Getty Images
DCL
Phone books are one of the most glaringly unnecessary relics from our more paper-dependent past. I, for one, can't remember the last time I actually used a phone book--it was at the very least over a year ago. I've railed against their wastefulness before, but getting rid of phone books seemed like a Sisyphusean feat--after all, we don't order them, we don't ask for them, we don't want them. Yet they keep showing up.
And when they do, we're not recycling them. Okay, so 15.9% of us are, according to the latest survey done on the topic, but that's not nearly enough. Obviously, something has to be done here--especially since 5 million trees are cut down every year to make them.
Grist's take--that it's time to get rid of phone books once and for all, is a useful place to start. The piece offers useful advice, pointing us to White Pages, an online directory dedicated to supplanting the phone book and turning contact info seekers online once and for all. Their Ban the Phone Book campaign already has over 6,500 supporters, and you can join with a couple simple clicks if you're so compelled. And you should be.
Because simply not using your phone book won't solve anything--they'll continue to show up on your doorstep. As Grist notes, certain states have initiated opt-in and opt-out programs that make it easier to neglect to receive a phone book. But they're not everywhere yet--far from it; many states still require phone companies to provide them with numbers for every landline subscriber for use in phone books.
So do your little part and help ban the phone book, seeing as how it's completely, 100% useless, and a needless contributor to deforestation.
