An interesting article in today's The Globe and Mail. The latest edition of the Canadian Yellow Pages has a notice on the cover telling people how they can cancel the delivery of the book. The notice isn't quite as dramatic as the ones you find on cigarette packets nowadays but the idea is essentially the same. The Yellow Pages has started telling people it's an environmental hazard.

The Canadian opt-out scheme isn't a new invention; it has been around since 2009. However, as is the case in the UK, the Yellow Pages tried hard to keep quiet about the existence of the opt-out. Such strategies can only delay the inevitable. Thanks to campaigners such as Aimee Davison of Yellow Pages Mountain (see video) and David Sabine the Canadian Yellow Pages could no longer get away with running a dummy opt-out service. The Yellow Pages is now not only advertising its opt-out scheme, they're also paying for the recycling of the books.

Canadians can opt out online or by phoning 1-800-268-5637. If you're in the UK you can cancel the Yellow Pages, BT Phone Book and/or Thomson Local directory via Junk Buster.