9th October 2006
Abolishing the limit on leaflets distributed by Royal Mail would hurt both the environment and council tax payers, according to the Local Government Association.
Under existing rules, postmen deliver a maximum of three items of unaddressed mail per household per week. Royal Mail is seeking to scrap this limit.
The Local Government Association has warned that lifting the three-items-per-week cap will lead to an increase in unwanted junk mail. Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, Chairman of the association, has written to Adam Crozier, Royal Mail chief executive, expressing "grave concern" for the council tax payer and the environment. In his letter Mr Bruce-Lockhart writes:
I am concerned that the expansion in 'junk mail' will lead to an increase in the amount of paper that is either thrown into landfill or has to be collected in recycling bins. This comes at a time when councils are trying to minimise waste, increase recycling and are striving to provide value for money to the taxpayer. Every extra tonne of rubbish that goes into landfill costs the taxpayer an extra £100, and any steps that can reduce this cost is one less burden on the hard pressed council taxpayer.
More junk mail for services people do not want or need will only lead to an increase in the amount of unnecessary rubbish created and could place further pressures on the council taxpayer through no fault of either the council or local people.
Jumping for joy
Royal Mail distributed a record 3.3 billion door-to-door items last year, a rise of 12.1% compared with 2004. The Local Government Association estimates that the amount of waste generated by junk mail is increasing by 3% per year, and that as a result an extra £206 million will be spent on collecting and disposing of junk mail this year.
A Royal Mail spokesman didn't deny these figures, but said that "the Local Government Association is entirely wrong in thinking anything Royal Mail has done will lead to 'unlimited' amounts of unaddressed mailings being sent to people's homes."
A spokesman for the Communication Workers Union, with whom Royal Mail is negotiating scrapping the three-items-per-week limit, said yesterday that its members were 'not exactly jumping for joy' at the prospect of delivering more junk mail. The spokesman said: "We realise we have to be competitive but at the same time we want to ensure postmen are not overloaded."