With a click, you can control number of phone books delivered to you

No more going from doorstep to trash can - Twin Citians now have a new tool to control the number of telephone books delivered.

By TOM MEERSMAN, Star Tribune

Last update: February 2, 2009 - 9:33 AM

Twin Cities residents now have an easy way to stop unwanted phone books from landing on their doorsteps and in their trash cans.

The publisher of Dex residential and Yellow Pages for Qwest has a new feature on its website that enables anyone to limit or stop the drop-off of directories.

"Basically we want to give people the opportunity to tell us in advance what types of books they want and how many they want," even if it's none at all, said Peter Larmey, spokesman for R.H. Donnelley, which publishes Dex, the largest distributor in the Twin Cities. Several other publishers are planning to follow suit.

"It's an absolutely positive step forward," said Garth Hickel, of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The state has identified phone books as a recycling failure. A study last February estimated that 85 percent of phone books in Minnesota are thrown in the trash, even though they can be shredded to make cellulose attic insulation and other products.

Ed Kohler, a south Minneapolis resident, Web strategist and blogger, said he has tried to get off distribution lists. In September, he received another phone book and was so fed up that he drove to Eagan and threw it onto the property of Idearc Media, the firm that publishes Verizon's phone book.

Amy Healy, director of public policy for a trade group that represents Idearc and other firms, said that most people still want directories. But phone book companies are moving to develop systems to stop unwanted deliveries. And not a moment too soon.

Rep. Paul Gardner, DFL-Shoreview, introduced a bill last week to require an "opt-out" approach, in which phone book firms must have websites and easy-to-find toll-free numbers for customers to stop unwanted deliveries.

For now, Larmey said residents of Minneapolis and its suburbs should act quickly to receive extra directories or cancel Dex deliveries that begin in May. It takes several weeks to process the requests, he said. St. Paul and its suburbs get directories in October. If residents do nothing, said Larmey, they'll get a directory.

Tom Meersman • 612-673-7388

HOW TO REACH DISTRIBUTORS

To make changes for Dex phone books, go to www.dexknows.com and click on "directory options" at the bottom. You may also call 1-877-2-GET-DEX. For Yellowbook, call 1-800-YB-YELLO. For Verizon Yellow Pages (Idearc), call 1-800-888-8448.

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