FAQs
Following are answers to common questions about the ‘Say No To Phonebooks’ campaign. If your question is not answered here, please contact the SNTP campaign team.
What is objective of this campaign?
To significantly reduce the amount of waste generated by unwanted phonebooks, we are calling for the establishment of a centralised opt-in system for receiving phonebooks. We believe people should have the choice whether they receive a BT Phonebook or business directories such as the Yellow Pages or Thomson Directory. With the widespread use of the Internet today, phonebooks have become obsolete. To show your support for an opt-in system in the UK, sign our e-petition.
Who is behind this campaign?
192.com is the UK’s most awarded online directory offering a comprehensive residential and business search. We have been making directory enquiries available online for free for over 10 years. 192.com is also partnering with, Global Action Plan, which was setup in 1993 as a different kind of environmental organisation, focusing on people and how they can take practical action in their everyday lives for a better world. 192.com is also working with London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham to launch the campaign and illustrate how much managing phonebook waste costs local councils and ultimately the tax-payer.
Don’t phonebooks get recycled anyway?
Phonebooks are now collected in 99% of boroughs or counties in the UK. However it is estimated that only 60% of phonebooks actually get recycled. In some areas you can add phonebooks to your household recycling in others you will need to return your old books to a dedicated refuse centre. One borough even suggests you tear it up and compost it! There is an also an environmental cost of recycling these books and the onus is on you. How about having a choice to not receive one in the first place? Who is counting the cost of 30,000 tonnes of phonebooks being added to landfill every year?
What can I currently do to stop receiving phonebooks?
None of the current phonebook providers openly disclose the option to opt-out of receiving a phone book. However, after some investigation we know that you can:
- Opt-out of the BT Phonebook by calling 0800 833400 then option 5 then option 1
- Opt-out of the Yellow Pages by calling 0800 671 444
- You opt-out of receiving Thomson Local by emailing info@thomsonlocal.com or calling 01252 555 555
You can also use the website Junk Buster (www.junkbuster.org.uk) where you can opt out of receiving all of the directories and other forms of junk mail.
How will the elderly access free directory enquiries?
There are pockets of society that may still need a printed phonebook which is why we’re saying that people should have the choice whether or not they receive a printed phonebook. According US-based Product Stewardship Institute’s research into printed phonebooks, another factor limiting the usefulness of the books is their physical characteristics. Frail people find them difficult to handle (one elderly woman mentioned that she needs to ask someone to lift them off her doorstep since they’re too heavy for her), and sight-impaired users struggle with the small print. The American Council of the Blind, many of whose members cannot use standard phone books at all, is fully supportive of replacing print directories with non-print alternatives.
Is this just a UK initiative?
The Say No To Phonebooks campaign is trying to affect change in the UK but we have also been working with the team at Banthephonebook.org and yellowpagesgoesgreen.org in the US. We are also working with Intuitive Media to reach out to schools in the UK, Australia, USA and other countries around the world to kick start the campaign in other countries.
