Call them. They fine the distributor if you're on their "no delivery" list and they'll send them to come pick it up. But then they leave a door hanger telling you that they didn't leave any unwanted paper on your porch.

It's a good idea that they recycle the books themselves. They could still claim that they deliver the books to every household while only printing a few of them. That ruins the idea of building a furnace that runs on phone books though.

How is this state/local government's fault?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1680&bih=919&q=opt+out+of+yellowbook&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Because they don't pay attention to opt-out requests, and the government doesn't do anything about it.

http://www.thedeets.com/2009/07/15/yellowbook-shows-opt-out-incompetence/

I suppose it can't hurt to try, but it's likely just a waste of time on top of a waste of resources.

how many trees die for this stupidity , council should ban them pronto.

Find an advertiser near you, take it in to them, make them deal with the garbage and tell them that you will never buy from them as a merchant.

Mine went straight from the front porch to the recycle bin. What a waste!

Knowing how much the City of Portland loves to dictate that we're "green" one would have thought that Portland would have BANNED phone books, unless you could qualify for a need for a phone book.

And then...the book is a simplified book containing only the blue pages and a much reduced yellow pages with limited ads.

I'm still trying to figure out why Gatorade bottles don't require a nickel deposit but water and pop do...

I remember delivering these in my youth. There was no list. We were given a neighborhood and several dozen phone books. We were instructed to put one on every doorstep. I doubt much has changed.

I live in an apartment complex. There were these in front of each door, not including the janitor's closet door, the garbage chute door and the door to the stairway.

What a waste.

I put mine in the backseat of my car and use it occasionally. A lot cheaper than paying for internet on my cell phone. But I certainly would not be willing to pay for the book.

Sorry bro...you're paying for it one way or another.

Real deep Polka King. You know what I meant.

If State or local governements actually did try to ban these superfluous phone books, there would be a big wahwah fest claiming gubberment is insensitive to these victimized businesses that make these books and certainly a tally of the jobs they provide.
I can't opt out of junk mail as fast as it ocmes in. The volume I receive, unsolicited,dwarfs the phone books.Can't even opt out of most of it.
And it gets worse.Unless you scrutinize every purchase you make, every download you authorize on the net, there is a good chance you somehow 'agree' to being put on their mailing list and that they can sell or distribute your email address to whoever they choose.
If you don't want the books, the obvious way to stop them is to get a cranky Rottweiler and put a fence around your house. Get off the Net. Hide.

Yup, and each time these things get delivered they all (30 of them) go right into the recycle bin.

What a waste.

But Jack, Portland thrives and survives on advertising and Yellow Page books are a big part of that cash-flow generator.

No wonder so many Portland enterprises are going out of business. Even geezers like I don't read phone book ads any more, much less young people who never touch paper. They'd be better off advertising on a well read blog. 8c)

The basic motivation behind pushing these out to every household, is the advertising revenue derived from businesses that elect to purchase ads in them. And all these businesses are told by the salespeople is the number of households the yellow pages reach (i.e. how many doorsteps they are dropped on) - not how many households keep them, or of those that are kept, how many actually use them. You can measure the first one somewhat directly; it's more difficult to get a measure of the last two.

I actually go to the trouble of telling businesses how they reached me, if they ask. And I nevere Say "yellow pages" (which is the truth) - it's usually a personal referral.

I have a suggestion...

I think we should all save up the phone books. And then one day, pile them up at City Hall. Right at the doorstep.

I propose that October 15th and 16th be "Phone Book Recycling Days at City Hall".

Here in Reno they no longer deliver phone books to home addresses. They are available in racks at the entrances of most of the major grocery stores along with most of the "free" newpapers and real estate magazines.

What, you don't have a door that needs propping open, or a computer display that needs to be elevated by 3 inches?

They will go away when the rubes who buy ads in them realize that it's a complete waste of their marketing dollars. (Unless your target customers are backwoods hillbillies and crackheads who still use pay phones.)

Down Eugene way all the Dex phone books were delivered in a bright blue "Dex" tote bag. Almost overnight they became the new homeless luggage.

What would the littering/vandalism fine be if I dropped five pounds of paper in someone's front yard?

Can these people be nailed for that?

Mine just hit the recycling bin immediately... what a waste of time, space, and money

I just think it's funny that the companies that distribute these wedges of dead tree think it's ok, because they are made of 80% recycled paper or some such.

Too bad they are a 100% waste of time and resources. Right about now, TV Guide thinks that the phone book is useless.