Postal Service and Mailing Industry Mail-Related Recycling:	 
Accomplishments and Postal Opportunities--Interim Results	 
(20-DEC-07, GAO-08-348R).					 
                                                                 
In fiscal year 2006, the United States Postal Service (USPS) was 
responsible for discarding about 6.1 billion pieces of		 
undeliverable-as-addressed Standard Mail (a class of bulk	 
advertising mail that includes catalogs and circulars). Some of  
this mail was recycled, but a large quantity of it was treated as
waste and simply thrown away. Standard Mail is increasing in	 
prominence due, in part, to its importance to businesses,	 
nonprofits, and others as an effective way for (1) providing	 
consumers with information on their products and services and (2)
soliciting contributions from mail recipients. Some mail	 
recipients, however, view Standard Mail as an annoyance that also
poses privacy and environmental concerns. According to the	 
Environmental Protection Agency, Standard Mail accounted for	 
about 5.8 million tons, or 2.4 percent, of municipal solid waste 
(otherwise known as trash or garbage) in 2005. Of this amount, 64
percent was placed in a landfill or incinerated, and 36 percent  
was recycled. The 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act 
required GAO to report--by December 20, 2007--on, among other	 
matters, USPS mail-related recycling accomplishments and	 
additional recycling opportunities. For mail-related recycling	 
accomplishments (initiatives), we expanded our work to include	 
the mailing industry and other stakeholders, as appropriate. For 
this report on our interim results, our objectives were as	 
follows: (1) describe the recent initiatives of USPS, the mailing
industry, and other stakeholders with respect to four		 
mail-related recycling topics, and (2) convey			 
stakeholder-identified opportunities for USPS to engage in, or	 
encourage others to engage in, activities related to these	 
topics, as well as factors to consider--such as mission 	 
compatibility, logistics, and cost--in deciding whether to adopt 
these opportunities.						 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-08-348R					        
    ACCNO:   A79131						        
  TITLE:     Postal Service and Mailing Industry Mail-Related	      
Recycling: Accomplishments and Postal Opportunities--Interim	 
Results 							 
     DATE:   12/20/2007 
  SUBJECT:   Environmental protection				 
	     Landfills						 
	     Mail delivery problems				 
	     Policy evaluation					 
	     Postal facilities					 
	     Postal service					 
	     Recycling						 
	     Waste disposal					 
	     Waste management					 
	     Mail processing operations 			 

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GAO-08-348R

   

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December 20, 2007

Congressional Requesters

Subject: Postal Service and Mailing Industry Mail-Related Recycling:
Accomplishments and Postal Opportunities--Interim Results

In fiscal year 2006, the United States Postal Service (USPS) was
responsible for discarding about 6.1 billion pieces of
undeliverable-as-addressed Standard Mail (a class of bulk advertising mail
that includes catalogs and circulars).^1 Some of this mail was recycled,
but a large quantity of it was treated as waste and simply thrown away.
Standard Mail is increasing in prominence due, in part, to its importance
to businesses, nonprofits, and others as an effective way for (1)
providing consumers with information on their products and services and
(2) soliciting contributions from mail recipients.^2 Some mail recipients,
however, view Standard Mail as an annoyance that also poses privacy and
environmental concerns. According to the Environmental Protection Agency,
Standard Mail accounted for about 5.8 million tons, or 2.4 percent, of
municipal solid waste (otherwise known as trash or garbage) in 2005. Of
this amount, 64 percent was placed in a landfill or incinerated, and 36
percent was recycled.

The 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act required GAO to
report--by December 20, 2007--on, among other matters, USPS mail-related
recycling accomplishments and additional recycling opportunities.^3 For
mail-related recycling accomplishments (initiatives), we expanded our work
to include the mailing industry and other stakeholders, as appropriate.
For this report on our interim results, our objectives were as follows:

^1Approximately 6 percent of all Standard Mail was
undeliverable-as-addressed.

^2In fiscal year 2005, Standard Mail surpassed First-Class Mail to become
the largest class of mail by volume.

^3Pub. L. No. 109-435 (Dec. 20, 2006).

           o describe the recent initiatives of USPS, the mailing industry,
           and other stakeholders with respect to four mail-related recycling
           topics,^4 and

           o convey stakeholder-identified opportunities for USPS to engage
           in, or encourage others to engage in, activities related to these
           topics, as well as factors to consider--such as mission
           compatibility,^5 logistics, and cost--in deciding whether to adopt
           these opportunities.

To accomplish our objectives we, among other activities, (1) interviewed a
wide range of USPS officials and stakeholders from about 40 other
organizations, including representatives from the mailing, paper
recycling, and environmental advocacy industries; (2) reviewed and
analyzed relevant documentation; (3) toured various facilities, including
USPS facilities in Baltimore and Philadelphia, a paper recycling facility,
and a printing facility; and (4) attended meetings of the "Greening the
Mail Task Force"--a committee convened in September 2007, comprised of
USPS, mailing industry, and other stakeholders, and focused on addressing
environmental issues regarding the mail. We primarily focused on Standard
Mail because of its increasing prominence in the mailstream, its
contribution to municipal solid waste, and the issues some mail recipients
have related to Standard Mail--as reflected in numerous "Do Not Mail"
state legislative initiatives. We conducted our work from April through
December 2007 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards.

On December 6 and 7, 2007, we briefed your staff on the interim results of
our analysis. This report formally conveys the information provided in
those briefings (see Enclosure). In summary:

           o USPS, the mailing industry, and other stakeholders have
           undertaken numerous mail-related recycling initiatives, but the
           extent to which these initiatives have been adopted is unknown.
           USPS initiatives include (1) developing a policy and guidelines
           for a nationwide mail-related recycling program, (2) centralizing
           and attempting to expand its waste removal and recycling contracts
           nationwide, (3) partnering with New York City to create a pilot
           mail recycling program, (4) introducing new tools to reduce
           undeliverable-as-addressed mail volumes and costs, and (5) forming
           a "Greening the Mail Task Force" to, among other activities,
           promote increased mail recycling. For their part, the mailing
           industry and other stakeholders have initiated, among other
           activities, a collaborative campaign to encourage mailers to print
           recycling logos on magazines, envelopes, and other mailpieces; a
           "Magazine PAPER Project" to provide technical assistance and
           expertise to magazine companies interested in using
           environmentally responsible paper; and a "Catalog Choice" Web site
           to enable mail recipients to stop receiving unwanted catalogs.
           Additionally, the Direct Marketing Association, whose members
           generate the majority of Standard Mail volume, will require all
           its members to adopt certain environmentally friendly practices by
           June 2008. While numerous initiatives are under way, data are
           limited on the extent to which these initiatives have been
           adopted.

           o Stakeholders identified opportunities for USPS to engage in, or
           encourage others to engage in, mail-related recycling. For
           example, according to stakeholders, USPS could (1) implement a
           "mail-back" program in locations with limited access to municipal
           paper recycling, (2) offer discounted postal rates for mailers
           that use recycled content and/or other "green" attributes in their
           mailpieces, and (3) take additional steps to educate mail
           recipients about the recyclability of mail. However, several
           factors--such as mission compatibility, logistics, and cost--would
           need to be considered in deciding whether USPS should adopt these
           or other opportunities.

^4The four mail-related recycling topics are: (1) recycling
undeliverable-as-addressed mail, mail discarded in USPS facilities, and
other mail-related materials, such as plastic wrappings and cardboard; (2)
reducing undeliverable and unwanted mail; (3) increasing the use of
recycled content or reusable materials in mail; and (4) promoting
increased recycling of mail-related materials.

^5USPS' mission is to provide affordable, high-quality universal postal
services on a self-financing basis.

This report is intended to meet our reporting time frames as mandated by
the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. We plan to issue a
more comprehensive report on this subject, including a qualitative
analysis of how each identified opportunity may influence USPS' costs and
revenues, in the spring of 2008.

We provided USPS with a draft of the enclosure, and we have incorporated
its technical comments, as appropriate.

                                   - - - - -

We are sending copies of this report to the Postmaster General,
appropriate congressional committees, and other interested parties. We
also will make copies available to others upon request. In addition, the
report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at
http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff has any questions about this report, please contact
me at (202) 512-2834 or [email protected]. Contact points for our Offices
of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last
page of this report. Key contributions to this report were made by
Kathleen Turner, Assistant Director; Samer Abbas; Jeff Jensen; Daniel
Paepke; and Stephanie Purcell.

Katherine Siggerud
Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues

Enclosure

Congressional Requesters

The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman
Chairman
The Honorable Susan M. Collins
Ranking Member
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
United States Senate

The Honorable Thomas R. Carper
Chairman
The Honorable Tom Coburn
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information,
Federal Services, and International Security
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
United States Senate

The Honorable Henry A. Waxman
Chairman
The Honorable Tom Davis
Ranking Member
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
House of Representatives

The Honorable Danny K. Davis
Chairman
The Honorable Kenny Marchant
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of
Columbia
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
House of Representatives

Enclosure

Postal Service and Mailing Industry Mail-Related Recycling:
Accomplishments and Postal Opportunities: 

GAO Briefing: 

Dec. 6 and 7, 2007: 

GAO Briefing - Interim Results: 

Introduction: 

Objectives: 

Scope and Methodology: 

Background: 

Objective 1: Initiatives: 

* Summary: 

Objective 2: Postal Opportunities: 

* Summary (Slide 25): 

Introduction: 

The United States Postal Service (USPS) delivered approximately 213 
billion pieces of mail in fiscal year (FY) 2006. About 102 billion of 
these pieces, or 48 percent, were sent as ï¿½Standard Mailï¿½ (a class of 
bulk mail). 

While USPS currently receives about half of its revenue from First- 
Class Mail, Standard Mail became the largest class of mail (by volume) 
in FY 2005 and is expected to grow in prominence in the future. 

Standard Mail includes circulars, printed matter, catalogs, 
newsletters, and direct mail and is the primary class used for mailing 
advertisements. 

Businesses, nonprofits, and others view Standard Mail as an important 
medium for providing information on their products and services and for 
soliciting contributions from mail recipients. 

About 6 percent of Standard Mail (about 6.1 billion mailpieces) were 
undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA) in FY 2006 and were therefore subject 
to additional handling by USPS. The remainder of Standard Mail is 
received, often read, and eventually discarded (and possibly recycled) 
by mail recipients. 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), paper comprised 
about one-third of municipal solid waste (otherwise known as trash or 
garbage) in 2005. Standard Mail accounted for about 5.8 million tons, 
or 2.4 percent, of municipal solid waste generated. Of this amount: 

* 64 percent was discarded (i.e., placed in a landfill or incinerated), 
and: 

* 36 percent was recycled. 

Numerous states proposed ï¿½Do Not Mailï¿½ legislation in 2007, largely to 
limit the receipt of unwanted Standard Mail. Proponents of these 
legislative initiatives cite the following three principal issues with 
respect to Standard Mail: 

* annoyance, 

* environmental concerns, and: 

* privacy and personal security. 

Objectives: 

The 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) required GAO 
to reportï¿½by December 20, 2007ï¿½on, among other matters, USPS mail-
related recycling accomplishments and additional recycling 
opportunities. For mail-related recycling accomplishments 
(initiatives), we expanded our work to include the mailing industry and 
other stakeholders, as appropriate. Consequently, this briefing will 

* Describe recent USPS, mailing industry, and other initiatives 
associated with the following four mail-related recycling topics: Topic 
1: Recycling UAA mail, mail discarded at USPS facilities by mail 
recipients (discarded lobby mail), and other mail-related materials, 
such as plastic wrappings and cardboard. Topic 2: Reducing 
undeliverable and unwanted mail. Topic 3: Increasing the use of 
recycled content or reusable materials in mail.
Topic 4: Promoting increased recycling of mail-related materials. 

* Convey stakeholder-identified opportunities for USPS to engage in, or 
encourage others to engage in, activities in the above topics, as well 
as factors to considerï¿½such as mission compatibility, 
logistics,[Footnote 6] and costï¿½in deciding whether to adopt the 
opportunities. 

Scope and Methodology: 

To accomplish our objectives, we, among other activities, (1) 
interviewed a wide range of USPS officials and stakeholders from about 
40 other organizations, including representatives from the mailing, 
paper recycling, and environmental advocacy industries; &PS reviewed 
and analyzed relevant documentation; (3) toured various facilities, 
including facilities in Baltimore and Philadelphia, a paper recycling 
facility, and a printing facility; and (4) attended meetings of the 
ï¿½Greening the Mail Task Forceï¿½ï¿½a committee comprising USPS, mailing 
industry, and other stakeholders to address environmental issues 
regarding the mail. 

We primarily focused on Standard Mail because of its increasing 
prominence in the mailstream, its contribution to municipal solid 
waste, and the issues some mail recipients have related to Standard 
Mailï¿½as reflected in numerous ï¿½Do Not Mailï¿½ state legislative 
initiatives. 

While efforts are under way to measure the overall environmental impact 
attributable to the mailing industry, these efforts are not yet 
completed. Consequently, our focus is on recycling as a means to 
eliminate mail and mail-related materials from municipal solid waste. 

We provided USPS with a draft of these slides and incorporated its 
technical comments, as appropriate. 

We conducted our work from April through December 2007 in accordance 
with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Background: Scope of the Mailing Industry: 

The mailing industry is large and includes the employees of: 

* USPS; 

* businesses, organizations, and others (mailers) that mail items 
through USPS and that rely on the mail to maintain contact with their 
customers; 

* preparers of the mail, including printers and businesses that send 
and/or receive mail on behalf of another party; and: 

* vendors and suppliers of the hardware, software, and labor related to 
mail, such as companies who help mailers improve the accuracy of their 
mailing lists. 

Background: Managing UAA Mail Is Costly: 

USPS is responsible for managing waste from mail that (1) cannot be 
delivered as addressed (i.e., UAA mail) and (2) mail recipients discard 
at its facilities. 

Since UAA mail cannot be delivered, it results in additional USPS 
handling. Depending on the type (class) of UAA mail, USPS may need to 
forward it to the addressee, return it to the sender, send it to a USPS 
mail recovery center (for First-Class Mail), orï¿½as is generally the 
case for Standard Mailï¿½treat it as waste.[Footnote 7] 

A USPS study reported that UAA mail cost the agency more than $1.8 
billion in FY 2004;[Footnote 8] 67 percent of these costs resulted from 
forwarding mail to the intended recipient or returning it to the 
sender.[Footnote 9] 

* USPS estimates that creating and sending mail that cannot be 
delivered costs businesses more than double this amount annually. 

Background: USPS Offers Tools to Mailers to Decrease UAA Mail: 

To qualify for Standard Mail rates, mailers must use, among other 
things, tools for improving the quality of their address listï¿½often 
referred to as ï¿½list hygiene.ï¿½ A sample of these tools includes the 
following: 

* Move Updateï¿½a series of tools mailers can use to update their mailing 
lists. One such tool, the National Change-of-Address file, helps 
mailers correct their customer address records following a customerï¿½s 
move by providing the customerï¿½s new address. 

* Address Element Correctionï¿½a tool that mailers can use to correct bad 
addresses within their mailing lists. 

* Delivery Point Validationï¿½a tool that verifies the address on a 
mailpiece using USPSï¿½ address database. 

Objective 1: Initiatives: 

Summary: 

USPS, the mailing industry, and other stakeholders have undertaken 
numerous mail-related recycling initiatives, but the extent to which 
these initiatives have been adopted is unknown. 

USPS has undertaken numerous initiatives (either independently or in 
consultation with other stakeholders) to: 

Topic 1: Recycle UAA mail, discarded lobby mail, and other mail-related 
materials. 

Topic 2: Reduce undeliverable and unwanted mail. 

Topic 3: Increase the use of recycled content or reusable materials in 
mail. 

Topic 4: Promote increased recycling of mail-related materials. 

The mailing industry and other stakeholders have also undertaken 
initiatives in most of these areas. 

While numerous initiatives are under way, data are limited on the 
extent to which the initiatives have been adopted. 

Topic 1: USPS Initiatives to Recycle UAA Mail, Discarded Lobby Mail, 
and Other Mail-Related Materials: 

Overall, while USPS has had a mail-related recycling program in place 
since the early 1990s, the desire to (1) increase revenues from 
recycling and (2) reduce waste removal costs caused USPS to develop a 
policy and guidance needed to adopt a nationwide mail-related recycling 
program. Specifically: 

* USPS recently published its policy (a Management Instruction), a 
business case evaluation, and a recycling implementation plan to 
provide policies, guidance, and justification for implementing a mail-
related recycling program nationwide. USPS is also developing more 
detailed guidelines for establishing mail-related recycling programs in 
postal facilities. 

- The Management Instruction encourages, but does not require, facility 
managers to implement mail-related recycling programs, as feasible, in 
their facilities. 

* USPS also has identified and will report on its ï¿½Islands of 
Excellenceï¿½ï¿½a report highlighting successful USPS mail-related 
recycling programs around the country. 

- While the reportï¿½s release date is unknown, we expect USPSï¿½ Northeast 
Area to be highlighted.[Footnote 10] This Area has been inducted into 
the EPAï¿½s ï¿½Waste Wise Hall of Fameï¿½ for its various recycling 
initiatives. 

* Further, USPS recently developed an evaluation tool (environmental 
scorecard) to measure and rank environmental compliance throughout 
USPS. As part of its evaluation, USPS measures revenue generated by 
mail-related recycling activities in each of USPSï¿½ nine geographic 
Areas. 

Second, USPS is centralizing and attempting to increase its waste-
related contracts as follows: 

* To increase recycling of UAA mail, discarded lobby mail, and other 
mail-related materials (recyclable mail-related materials), in January 
2006, USPS selected the Memphis, Tennessee, Category Management Center 
(Memphis CMC) to negotiate and monitor all waste removal and recycling 
contracts nationwide.[Footnote 11] 

- The contracts (1) are intended to increase recycling revenues and 
reduce costs associated with waste removal and (2) operate primarily 
through two methods: 

* backhauling which uses USPSï¿½ vehicles and labor to haul recyclable 
mail-related materials to a centralized postal facility, or: 

* milk runs which generally use non-USPS equipment and labor to pick up 
recyclable mail-related my materials and deliver them to a central USPS 
or recycling facility. 

- For example, the CMC contract with Rand-Whitney for Pennsylvania 
facilities established backhauling and milk runs to transport 
recyclable mail-related materials from 457 postal facilities. 

* According to Rand-Whitney, this increased USPS recycling revenue by 
$177,000, reduced its waste disposal costs by $98200, and resulted in a 
total savings of $275,000 from July 206 through June 2007.[Footnote 11] 

* As of November 2007, Memphis CMC managed various waste removal and 
recycling contracts for 13 percent of all USPS facilities. USPS could 
not supply data on the extent to which the remaining 87 percent of USPS 
facilities are recycling mail-related materials under separate 
contractual arrangements. 

* According to USPS officials, contracts managed by Memphis CMC 
resulted in approximately $6.6 million in recycling revenues and waste 
removal cost savings in FY 2007. 

* In FY 2010, USPS hopes to generate $40 million in revenue from its 
expanded use of centralized waste removal/recycling contracts.[Footnote 
13] 

Third, in May 2007, USPS partnered with New York City to create a pilot 
program termed ï¿½New York City SOARs!ï¿½ (Saving Of Americaï¿½s Resources) 
to, among other things: 

* identify opportunities for establishing and expanding recycling 
programs in USPS facilities in New York City, such as placing recycling 
bins in postal facility lobbies, and: 

* recognize practices that can be used in other USPS facilities. 

Topic 2: USPS Initiatives to Reduce Undeliverable and Unwanted Mail: 

USPS established a goal for reducing UAA mail costs by 50 percent 
between FY 2004 and FY 2010. 

* USPS set this goal in 2006, but clarified it in the summer of 2007. 
As clarified, the goal applies to the costï¿½not the volumeï¿½of UAA mail. 

* Costs associated with First-Class Mail will contribute more to the 
cost reduction goal than those associated with Standard Mail. This is 
because the majority (of UAA mail costs) is associated with forwarding 
and returning UAA mail. First-Class UAA Mail is forwarded to the g 
recipient or returned to the sender, while Standard Mail typically is 
not. 

USPS is developing performance measures to assess its progress in. 
meeting this goal. However, in the interim, USPS is using increases in 
the number of Address Change Service requests made by mailers as a 
proxy for measuring its performance.[Footnote 14] 

USPS recently modified Move Updateï¿½a tool mailers use to update their 
mailing list addresses for individuals who have moved. For the first 
timeï¿½effective November 2008ï¿½Standard Mailers will be required to use 
Move Update to qualify for postage discounts. In addition, these 
mailers will be required to increase the frequency of their updates 
from 185 days to 95 days prior to each mailing. 

USPS also is introducing Intelligent Mail Barcodes (Intelligent Mail)ï¿½a 
tool that allows USPS and mailers to track a mailpiece and, in some 
cases, determine its delivery status. Because mailers could use 
delivery status information to identify UAA mailpieces and correct 
their mailing lists, USPS officials believe Intelligent Mail likely 
will reduce UAA mail volumes. 

* USPS and Bank of America have signed a performance-based negotiated 
service agreementï¿½the first of its kindï¿½to provide reduced postage 
rates based, in part, on the bankï¿½s UAA mail reduction. 

- USPS plans to use Intelligent Mail to assess whether the bank has 
reduced its UAA mail volumes. 

- USPS expects the negotiated service agreement to help it evaluate the 
effectiveness of Intelligent Mail before it is fully implemented in 
2009. 

USPS is using the Postal Automated Redirection System (PARS) to reduce 
UAA mail costs. For mail recipients who have moved and filed a change 
of address order with USPS, PARS, among other things, identifies UAA 
mail when it is sorted and redirects it to the correct destination. By 
rerouting a mailpiece to the correct address before it is sent 
elsewhere, PARS reduces the number of mailpieces that are delivered to 
incorrect addresses. Eliminating the need to forward mailpieces to 
recipients and/or return them to the senders reduces the overall cost 
of processing UAA mail. 

Topic 3: USPS Initiatives to Increase the Use of Recycled Content or 
Reusable Materials in Mail: 

According to USPS officials, USPS uses 100 percent recycled paperboard 
in its Priority Mail and Express Mail packages and envelopes.[Footnote 
15] Additionally, according to postal officials, USPS' marketing 
materials typically contain 10 percent postconsumer recycled 
content.[Footnote 16] 

A collaborative effort of USPS and mailing industry representatives, 
including envelope manufacturers and other stakeholders, has improved 
the recyclability of mail-related adhesives through the use of 
specially engineered adhesives any advanced recycling equipment and 
techniques. 

USPS has approved the use of reusable mailpieces (e.g., two-way 
envelopes that could reduce paper consumption) in the mailstream. 

Topic 4: USPS Initiatives to Promote Increased Recycling of Mail-
Related Materials: 

In January 2008, USPS plans to launch internal and external ï¿½greenï¿½ Web 
sites. The external site will promote mail recycling to the general 
public, while the internal site is aimed at postal employees and will 
contain USPSï¿½ environmental policy (the Management Instruction) and 
other guidance. 

In addition to its focus on recycling at USPS facilities, the ï¿½New York 
SOARs!ï¿½ pilot program also promotes recycling of mail-related materials 
in non-USPS facilities such as businesses, retailers, and government 
agencies. 

USPS convened the ï¿½Greening the Mail Task Forceï¿½ in September 2007 to 
promote increased mail recycling, among other matters. 

* The task forceï¿½which intends to operate as a long-standing committee 
to address matters of mutual interestï¿½includes USPS officials, mailing 
industry representatives, and other stakeholders and has met twice as 
of December 6, 2007. 

* Task force members formed the following five subcommittees to address 
initial environmental issues regarding the mail: 

- education/awareness on sustainability and value of the mail; 

- improve recyclability and source reduction; 

- recycling collection of the mail; 

- life cycle analysis of mail; and: 

- standards/self-certification. 

Topic 1: Mailing Industry and Other Stakeholder Initiatives to Recycle 
UAA Mail, Discarded Lobby Mail, and Other Mail-Related Materials: 

Because USPS has responsibility for handling UAA mail and recycling 
mail-related materials, the mailing industry and other stakeholders do 
not have initiatives in Topic 1. 

Topics 2, 3, and 4: Mailing Industry and Other Stakeholder Initiatives
The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), whose members generate about 80 
percent of Standard Mail volume, has two initiatives under way that 
address three of the four mail-related recycling topics (reducing 
undeliverable and unwanted mail, increasing the use of recycled content 
or reusable materials in mail, and promoting increased recycling of 
mail-related materials). The initiatives involve DMAï¿½s development of: 

an ï¿½Environmental Resolutionï¿½ to improve its membersï¿½ business 
practices and, more particularly, the establishment of a set of 15 
environmental commitments (the ï¿½Green 15ï¿½) relating to (1) paper 
procurement and use, (2) list hygiene and data management, (3) mail 
design and production, (4) packaging, and (5) recycling and pollution. 

* The ï¿½Green 15ï¿½ was established in May 2007 and requires DMA members 
to adopt ï¿½greenï¿½ practices, such as the use of recycled content and 
responsibly sourced virgin fiber (certified paper), as appropriate, by 
June 2008. 

* DMA offers guidance to help members implement these practices. 

* DMA does not know to what extent these practices have been adopted; 
however, it intends to develop enforcement measures and use its ethics 
policy group to regulate compliance when the ï¿½Green 15ï¿½ becomes 
mandatory in June 2008. 

a Web-based tool (the Environmental Tool and Optional Policy Generator) 
to help members develop their environmental policies and practices. 

* Members also can use the tool to meet the standards and practices set 
forth in DMAï¿½s ï¿½Environmental Resolutionï¿½ and ï¿½Green 15.ï¿½ 

* DMA does not collect data on the extent to which its members use the 
Web-based tool. 

Topic 2: Mailing Industry and Other Stakeholder Initiatives to Reduce 
Undeliverable and Unwanted Mail: 

DMA initiatives: 

Mail Preference Service (Service)ï¿½Developed in 1972, the Service allows 
individuals to remove their names from all DMA member mailing lists for 
a $1 fee. 

* In early 2008, DMA plans to improve the Service by enabling mail 
recipients to choose companies (DMA members) from which they no longer 
wish to receive mail. Presently, the Service is an ï¿½all or nothingï¿½ opt-
out program. 

* As of November 2006, 4.5 million people had registered for the 
Service. 

* DMA currently requires members to update their mailing lists against 
the Service on a quarterly basis. As part of the ï¿½Green 15,ï¿½ beginning 
in June 2008, DMA will require its membersï¿½on a monthly basisï¿½to 
eliminate individuals who have opted out of member mailings. 

ï¿½Commitment to Consumer Choiceï¿½ï¿½Beginning in October 2008, DMA members 
must provide a notice on all their advertising mailpieces informing 
recipients that they can opt-out of future mailings. 

ï¿½Deceased Do Not Contactï¿½ listï¿½DMAï¿½s Web site provides mail recipients 
with the opportunity to register the names of deceased individuals for 
removal from DMA membersï¿½ mailing lists. 

Other selected mailing industry and stakeholder initiatives: 

The 2007 National Postal Forum included a symposium on address quality 
that highlighted techniques mailers can use to improve address quality 
and reduce UAA mail. 

In 2006 and 2007, the Mailersï¿½ Technical Advisory Committee published 
reports that focused on (1) improving addressing techniques and (2) 
developing a means to certify the accuracy of mailing lists purchased 
by mailers. 

* The committee is a collaboration of USPS and mailing industry 
officials which, like the ï¿½Greening the Mail Task Force,ï¿½ uses work 
groups to study issues of mutual interest. 

Initiated in October 2007, the ï¿½Catalog Choiceï¿½ Web site enables mail 
recipients to stop receiving unwanted catalogs. As of December 3, 2007, 
about 255,000 mail recipients had registered, opting out of over 3.1 
million catalogs. 

* Catalog Choice is a project of the Ecology Center and is endorsed by 
the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense 
Council. Dec. 6 and 7, 2007 GAO Briefing - Interim Results 22 

Topic 3: Mailing Industry and Other Stakeholder Initiatives to Increase 
the Use of Recycled Content or Reusable Materials in Mail: 

DMA initiatives: 

As part of the ï¿½Green 15,ï¿½ mailers will be required to purchase paper 
with postconsumer recycled content, where appropriate. 

The Environmental Tool and Optional Policy Generator encourages 
mailers, among other things, to purchase paper containing postconsumer 
recycled content. DMA does not collect data on the extent to which its 
members (1) use this tool or (2) purchase paper containing postconsumer 
recycled content. 

Other selected mailing industry and stakeholder initiatives: 

A major catalog retail company partnered with Environmental Defense to 
use paper with a minimum of 10 percent postconsumer recycled content. 

A major envelope manufacturing company offers 10 ï¿½greenï¿½ attributes in 
envelopes (e.g., recycled content, soy- based inks, and chlorine-free 
bleaches). 

* According to a company official, 80 percent of its envelope sales 
include at least one ï¿½greenï¿½ attribute. 

ï¿½The Magazine PAPER Project,ï¿½ an initiative of Co-op America, provides 
technical assistance and expertise to magazines interested in using 
paper containing postconsumer recycled content and certified 
paper.[Footnote 17] 

* According to Co-op Americaï¿½s Web site, as of December 6, 2007, 114 
magazines had committed to using ï¿½environmentally responsible paperï¿½ 
(ï¿½Magazine Paper Heroesï¿½). 

Topic 4: Mailing Industry and Other Stakeholder Initiatives to Promote 
Increased Recycling of Mail-Related Materials: 

DMA initiatives: 

* The ï¿½Recycle Pleaseï¿½ campaignï¿½launched in collaboration with the 
Envelope Manufacturers Association and the Magazine Publishers of 
Americaï¿½encourages mailers to print recycling logos on mailpieces. 

- The extent to which mailers currently participate in this program is 
unknown. However, DMA members will be required to participate as part 
of the ï¿½Green 15ï¿½ in June 2008. 

Other selected mailing industry and stakeholder initiatives: 

* The ï¿½Recycling Magazines is Excellentï¿½ program disseminates 
advertisements and other promotional materials, such as signage on city 
buses, to inform consumers that magazines are recyclable. 

- The program is a collaboration between the National Recycling 
Coalition, Verso Paper, and Time, Inc, among others, and has been 
implemented in four pilot areas (Boston, MA; Prince Georgeï¿½s County, 
MD; Portland, OR; and Milwaukee, WI). 

- In Boston and Prince Georgeï¿½s Countyï¿½the two locations where the 
pilot has been completedï¿½the program increased magazine recycling by 
22.8 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively. 

* The American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA) is partnering with 
other organizations to promote the recycling of all paper, including 
mail. 

- AF&PA set a goal of recycling 55 percent of the paper consumed in the 
United States by 2012. 

Objective 2: Opportunities: 

Summary: 

Stakeholders identified numerous opportunities for USPS to engage in, 
or encourage others to engage in, activities associated with the four 
mail-related recycling topics. However, several factorsï¿½such as mission 
compatibility, logistics, and costï¿½would need to be considered in 
deciding whether to adopt these opportunities. Specifically, 
stakeholders indicated that USPS could: 

Increase recycling of UAA mail, discarded lobby mail, and other mail-
related materials by: 

* including postal Districts in its evaluation of environmental 
compliance and offering appropriate incentives, 

* implementing a ï¿½mail-backï¿½ program, and: 

* coordinating with the paper recycling industry to, among other 
things, identify recycling obstacles and transportation opportunities. 

Reduce UAA and unwanted mail by: 

* considering additional performance-based negotiated service 
agreements. 

Increase use of recycled content or reusable materials in mailings by: 

* considering initiating a discounted postal rate for mailers that use 
paper with ï¿½greenï¿½ attributes. 

Promote increased recycling of mail by: 

* taking additional steps to educate mail recipients about the 
recyclability of mail. 

Topic 1: USPS Opportunities to Recycle UAA Mail, Discarded Lobby Mail, 
and Other Mail-Related Materials: 

Opportunity: To expand existing mail-related recycling programs and to 
initiate new efforts, USPS could include postal Districtsï¿½in addition 
to postal Areasï¿½in its evaluation of environmental compliance as it 
relates to mail-related recycling activities. USPS could also consider 
offering appropriate incentives to accomplish these objectives. 

Factors to consider: 

* Mission compatibility: 

- USPS must balance recycling efforts with its mission of providing 
universal access to postal services. 

- USPS employees may not perceive mail recycling as compatible with 
their postal duties. 

* Logistics: 

- Some postal facilities lack space for storing UAA mail, discarded 
lobby mail, and other mail-related materials intended for recycling. 

- Backhauling may be difficult in rural areas where central collection 
facilities may not be geographically convenient. 

* Cost: 

- Revenue from recycling may not cover program costs throughout all 
USPS Districts. 

Opportunity: To provide mail recycling opportunities to mail recipients 
who live in locations where access to municipal paper recycling is 
limited,[Footnote 18] USPS could implement a program to enable mail 
recipients to send (ï¿½mail-backï¿½) their discarded mail to a central 
facility using USPSï¿½ delivery network. 

* Mail recipients could be provided with preaddressed packages to send 
their discarded mailï¿½ similar t~existing programs (e.g., inkjet 
cartridges, cellular phones, and unused prescription drugs) to 
predetermined location for recycling. 

* If implemented in states with pending ï¿½Do Not Mailï¿½ legislative 
initiatives, a mail-back program of this type could reduce the 
perceived -need for such legislation. 

Factors to consider: 

* Mission compatibility: 

- If logistic and/or cost issues present difficulties, a mail-back 
program could interfere with USPS' mission of providing universal 
access to postal services. 

* Logistics: 

- USPS would face a number of challenges in developing mechanisms for 
collecting and transporting the returned mail through -is delivery, 
retail, and/or processing networks. 

* Cost: 

- The costs of implementing such a program are uncertain. In existing 
mail-back programs for other products, the manufacturers subsidize 
program costs. 

Opportunity: To address the shortage of recycled content for use in 
producing recycled paper, USPS could coordinate with the paper 
recycling industry to (1) identifyï¿½and, possibly, resolveï¿½any existing 
obstacles to the recycling of mail-related materials and (2) determine 
whether these parties could assist USPS in transporting mail-related 
materials to paper recycling facilities. 

* Representatives of the paper recycling industry stated that mail-
related adhesives can pose recycling problems depending on the 
technology used. According to officials at the paper recycling facility 
we visited, such adhesives continue to pose recycling 
problems.[Footnote 19] 

* AF&PA, for example, is interested in collaborating with USPS to 
increase mail-related recycling to help accomplish its goal of 
recovering (i.e., preventing landfill disposal or incineration) 55 
percent of paper consumed in the United States by 2012. 

Factors to consider: 

* Mission compatibility: 

- USPS could be drawn into a contentious debate on the merits of 
various forest certification programs offered by the paper and paper 
recycling industries.[Footnote 20] 

* Logistics: 

- USPS would need to develop an implementation framework, possibly 
including an approach to sharing costs and revenues with the private 
sector. 

* Cost: 

- The cost of resolving obstacles to the recycling of mail-related 
materials, including the staff resources involved in collaborating, is 
unknown. 

Topic 2: USPS Opportunity to Reduce Undeliverable and Unwanted Mail
Opportunity: To reduce UAA mail, USPS could consider additional 
performance-based negotiated service agreements, similar to the 
agreement with Bank of America. 

Factors to consider: 

* Mission compatibility: 

- No factors identified. 

* Logistics: 

- Implementing additional agreements can be complex and requires 
approval by the Postal Regulatory Commission and USPSï¿½ Board of 
Governors. 

* Cost: 

- No factors identified. 

* Other: 

- Feasibilityï¿½In view of concerns expressed by the commission,[Footnote 
21] USPS (and, possibly, mailers) may be reluctant to pursue additional 
agreements. 

Topic 3: USPS Opportunity to Increase the Use of Recycled Content or 
Reusable Materials in Mail Opportunity: To encourage the use of 
recycled content or reusable materials in mail, USPS could consider 
creating a discounted postal rate (ï¿½Green Rateï¿½) for mailers that use 
recycled content, certified paper, and/or other ï¿½greenï¿½ attributes in 
their mailpieces. 

Factors to consider: 

* Mission compatibility: 

- How will USPS determine which ï¿½greenï¿½ attributes to include in a 
ï¿½Green Rateï¿½? Is doing so beyond its mission? 

- The inclusion of certified rain a ï¿½Green Rateï¿½ could draw USPS into a 
contentious debate on the merits of various forest certification 
programs. 

* Logistics: 

- USPS would need to develop mechanisms to monitor and enforce a ï¿½Green 
Rate.ï¿½ 

* Cost: 

- By itself, a ï¿½Green Rateï¿½ may decrease USPS net revenues. Therefore, 
USPS may need to seek other revenues, including a rate increase for 
other mail. 

- Establishing, monitoring, and enforcing a ï¿½Green Rateï¿½ likely would 
require additional staff and other resources. 

Topic 4: USPS Opportunity to Promote Increased Recycling of Mail-
Related Materials: 

Opportunity: Stakeholders routinely informed us that mail recipients 
are often unaware that mail can be recycled. To increase the publicï¿½s 
awareness and promote recycling of discarded mail, USPS could take 
additional steps to educate mail recipients. 

* Specifically, USPS could collaborate on the ongoing initiatives of 
the mailing, paper recycling, and environmental advocacy industries, 
and other stakeholders, as appropriate, including the following: 

- ï¿½Recycle Please,ï¿½ 

- "Recycling Magazines is Excellent,ï¿½ 

- ï¿½The Magazine PAPER Project,ï¿½ and: 

- An ongoing initiative by the National Recycling Coalition to improve 
and update industry-wide recycling logos and develop a logo 
specifically for mail recycling. 

* Furthermore, USPS could take unilateral actions to encourage mail 
recipients to recycle their mail, wherever possible. For example, USPS 
could: 

- send postcards to mail recipients informing them that mail can be 
recycled or composted, 

- include a mail-related recycling message in its postmarks and/or 
stamps, and: 

- develop signage promoting mail-related recycling for display in its 
facilities. 

Factors to consider: 

* Mission compatibility: 

- No factors identified. 

* Logistics: 

- As previously discussed, one-third of U.S. communities lack access to 
paper recycling. 

* Cost: 

- Collaboration may require additional staff and other resources. 

- The costs to conduct an advertising campaign or develop signage, 
stamps, and/or suitable postmarks are unknown. 

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[6] Logistical factors include USPSï¿½ management of the movement, 
storage, and handling of mail. 

[7] While undeliverable Standard Mail is generally not forwarded to the 
addressee, mailers can pay USPS an additional fee to have their 
undeliverable Standard Mail returned to them. 

[8] This represented about 2.6 percent of USPSï¿½ total expenses ($69.0 
billion) in FY 2004. 

[9] The remaining 33 percent of costs were associated with waste 
processing ($270 million ï¿½ 15 percent), address correction ($187 
million ï¿½ 10 percent), change-of-address form processing ($132 million 
ï¿½ 7 percent), and administration and support ($24 million ï¿½ 1 percent). 

[10] USPS divides the country into nine geographic Areas and 80 smaller 
organizational units called ï¿½Districts.ï¿½ Each postal facility reports 
to its District, which in turn reports to its Area. 

[11] USPS received a White House ï¿½Closing the Circleï¿½ award in 2007 for 
the Memphis CMCï¿½s contracting activities in Pennsylvania and 
Mississippi. 

[12] Once recyclables are no longer thrown out as waste, USPS generates 
less waste, thereby reducing its disposal costs. Rand Whitney received 
25 percent of the total savings. 

[13] This figure does not include savings associated with reduced waste 
removal costs. 

[14] This service is available to mailers who, for a fee, can sign up 
to receive electronic notices when their mailpieces are UAA. Depending 
on the type of service the mailer chooses to use (e.g., ï¿½Address 
Service Requestedï¿½), the electronic notice (1) eliminates USPSï¿½ 
obligation to either forward a First-Class Mail mailpiece to the 
recipient or return it to the mailer and (2) informs Standard Mailers 
when a mailpiece is UAA. 

[15] USPSï¿½ commitment to incorporate environmental concerns in these 
products resulted in a ï¿½Cradle to Cradleï¿½ certification from a 
consulting firm that helps clients create ï¿½ecologically intelligent 
products.ï¿½ 

[16] EPA defines postconsumer recycled content as (1) paper fiber that 
has passed through its end-usage as a consumer item or (2) paper fiber 
that is recovered from municipal solid waste. 

[17] Certified paper is paper that originates from certified forests. 
Forest certification programs are designed to recognize and promote 
environmentally-responsible forestry. 

[18] According to a 2006 study referenced by AF&PA, 31 percent of U.S. 
communities lack access to paper recycling. 

[19] Although some mail-related adhesives pose problems for this plant, 
officials stated that they would continue to accept USPS UAA mail. 

[20] These programs are designed to recognize and promote 
environmentally-responsible forestry. 

[21] In its decision to approve the agreement, the commission reported 
that while it endorses the concept of the agreement, some of the data 
that USPS intends to use to determine cost savings are outdated and 
unreliable. Using more recent data, the commission estimated that the 
agreement could result in increased costs to USPS. 

(542135)

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