In walking around Wilshire Park, it's hard not to notice the orange-bagged phone books on every porch. Some of them will sit there for weeks and even months. Sometimes they are delivered in stacks. People don't even bother to pick them up, and most of those that are picked up never make it through the front door, but go directly to the trash. Let's face it - if you are reading this, you don't use a phone book, and don't want that ad for bail bonds staring at you for a whole year. It's a waste of paper, creates litter, is immediately out-of-date, and is far less convenient than an internet search. It's fine to recycle these unwanted directories, but wouldn't it be a lot better if those books were never printed in the first place? There's a solution: OPT OUT.

In response to loud complaints about unwanted and wasteful directory deliveries, phone companies have created an online opt-out site.  If you don't want phone directories, go to Yellow Pages Opt Out, create an account (email and password), put in your zip code, and you will see the available phone books that you are eligible to receive. You can request specific books, if you still want one or would like a targeted directory, or opt out of each book individually or all at once.

The system is not perfect - it's new - but it's a start, and may lead to the policy of opting in, instead of opting out. And it's the right thing to do.

Here is a nice article about what San Francisco is doing to reduce phone book waste, including an analysis of the big lie that the Yellow Pages tells the people who buy ads in their directories.