Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Finally! well, it’s a start at least. In the very, very ‘Green’ State of California Verizon will no longer deliver printed copies of their Residential telephone directories.
Instead, Verizon has made the ordering of the listings opt in. Customers can get online and order their phone books in paper or electronic formats.
I wonder when they’ll start doing it in other states too.
(press release follows)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – September 29, 2011 –
Verizon will end the automatic delivery of printed residential white pages listings in California, effective with the release of the 2011-2012 Barstow Regional and High Desert Verizon Superpages in November.
Despite the discontinuation of the automatic delivery, customers will be able to order free residential print and CD-ROM versions of white pages directories by calling 1-800-888-8448 as each local yellow pages directory begins delivery. In addition, all white pages listings are accessible at www.verizon.com/whitepages.
The discontinuation is expected to keep out of the California waste stream approximately 1,900 tons of paper per year – the equivalent of the maximum takeoff weight of more than four Boeing 747-400 airliners.
Yellow pages directories – containing business and government white pages, customer information pages and yellow pages ads – will continue to be delivered, and information about how to continue to receive residential white pages listings and access them online will be displayed on the covers and table of contents of those directories.
To improve efficiency and reduce the environmental impacts associated with printed directories, Verizon in October 2010 asked the California Public Utilities Commission to waive the existing requirement to deliver residential white pages. The company noted that significant resources are expended annually to print and automatically distribute directories to customers who may not want or use them. The PUC granted Verizon’s request on June 9.
Residential white pages usage has decreased considerably due to the Internet and mobile search. Gallup estimates the usage for residential white page directories had dropped to about 11 percent in 2008.
Reducing the use of paper is a significant part of Verizon’s comprehensive sustainability efforts. In 2010, more than 325,000 additional Verizon customers across the country signed up for paperless billing, joining the 2.4 million customers already receiving their bills online. Last year alone, the company’s online billing customers saved more than 68,000 trees by going paperless. Verizon’s commitment also involves a strong waste-management program, resulting in the recycling of 50.8 million pounds of paper and cardboard in 2010.
SuperMedia LLC is the publisher of the Verizon directories. SuperMedia uses biodegradable inks and dyes, as well as paper that is made primarily from lumber industry waste such as wood pulp and fiber and includes up to 40 percent post-consumer recycled content. In addition, SuperMedia purchases directory paper from producers recognized for their sustainability practices ranging from water recycling at mills to careful reclamation of forest lands. For more information, visit www.supermedia.com/social-responsibility/environmental-sustainability.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with more than 106 million total connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 196,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of $106.6 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.
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