United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2007-12-20 monographic deposited born digital 37 p. GA 1.13:GAO-08-348R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-348R P0b002ee180387ba8 f:d08348r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-348R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-348R GAO-08-348R Environmental protection Landfills Mail delivery problems Policy evaluation Postal facilities Postal service Recycling Waste disposal Waste management Mail processing operations Correspondence A79131 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. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-348R/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-348R.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-348R/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-348R.pdf GAO-08-348R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-348R Correspondence GAO-08-348R; Postal Service and Mailing Industry Mail-Related Recycling: Accomplishments and Postal Opportunities--Interim Results; Environmental protection Landfills Mail delivery problems Policy evaluation Postal facilities Postal service Recycling Waste disposal Waste management Mail processing operations