In July 2003 the Direct Marketing Association signed an agreement with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) setting recycling targets for direct mail (55% of direct mail should be recycled by the end of 2009 increasing to 70% by the end of 2013) and forcing the industry to publicise opt-out services that can help reduce junk mail. The junk mail industry has since been regularly criticised for failing to cut waste.

In its Waste Strategy White Paper, published in May 2007, Government first warned marketeers that a 'junk mail opt-in' might be introduced if the industry would fail to change its business practices. In November last year Defra urged the industry to advertise the Mailing Preference Service on all addressed junk mail, an idea the industry rejected as an "unsophisticated and blunt axe response".

Waste prevention 'even better than recycling'

In 'Green Matters', a Direct Marketing Association publication encouraging marketeers to 'go Green', Joan Ruddock reminded the industry that a 'junk mail opt-in' is still on the table. The minister said that waste prevention and recycling are top priorities for Government and that the industry should do more to meet its environmental obligations: "Every tonne of paper that we don't send to landfill is equivalent to saving more than a tonne of carbon dioxide emissions. That is why we made a commitment in the Waste Strategy published last year to do more to tackle paper waste."

"The industry will need to make sure that it uses material that is recyclable and works with others to achieve greater recycling. This will include making it clear to the public that the material can be recycled. One simple action the industry could take is to use the Recycle Now logo on all mail. I would also like to see greater use of recycled material by the industry itself.

"Waste prevention is even better for the environment than recycling. For the direct marketing sector this means better targeting. I look forward to hearing more about the new 'Your Choice' scheme for unaddressed mail when it is launched. Mail should not be sent to people who have died, moved away or chosen – through the Mailing Preference Service – not to receive material. The techniques to achieve this need to be rigorously applied by the industry.

"There is a reluctance to promote the Mailing Preference Service on direct marketing material because it is seen as a blunt approach. I appreciate that there is concern about the possible introduction of an opt-in system, for similar reasons. If we can achieve the recycling targets in the agreement and improve targeting of direct mail, we may not need to take these measures. But if the industry does not like the opt-in approach, it needs to seize the opportunity to develop better ones. It is still the case that too much direct mail is simply thrown away. Better targeting should be an imperative for the industry."