ATLANTA,None — A war is brewing between the companies that print the Yellow Pages and local communities that are finding thousands of them in the trash. Cities are spending a lot of taxpayer money just to recycle the phone books a lot of people don't want in the first place.
Studies by environmentalist groups show that Americans either recycled or threw away 650,000 tons of phone books last year. Because taxpayer money is used for recycling programs, those same groups estimate hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent in metro Atlanta just to get rid of phone books. Nationally, that cost jumps to $63 million.
Millions Spent To Recycle Yellow Pages LINK: yellowpagesoptout.com LINK: Georgia Public Service Commission
"Many people don't even open these phone books. It's become sort of like junk mail," said environmental activist Jess Leber. "Environmentally, it's a waste. Paper is just very heavy and very bulky."
The Yellow Pages are part of a $27 billion industry with a large lobbying force. Many communities around the country have tried to slow the distribution of phone directories. All but one failed.
In Georgia, AT&T successfully fought last year to stop delivering white pages to thousands of homes outside of Atlanta. Others can opt out by going to the Georgia Public Service Commission's website.
That does not include the Yellow Pages. Phone industry executives say you can opt out of those by going to its website.
"It really does us no good whatsoever to deliver phone books to those who don't want them," said phone industry executive Neg Norton. "It irritates customers and provides no value for our advertisers. It's expensive for us."
The phone industry doesn't generate advertising with the white pages. It does with the Yellow Pages.
There is a small group of people who still use phone books. And there's a growing group of professional recyclers who like them, too. Some businesses turn the old books into paper products. Zoo Atlanta also uses recycled phone books as bedding for its orangutans.
This means it will remain an uphill battle for Leber. She has collected 11,000 signatures on a proposal that would fine a company $500 for delivering a phone book without asking someone first if the person wanted one. So far, that proposal has gone nowhere.
WSBTV
