Kudos to Yellow Pages publisher – The Berry Company for recognizing the St. Joseph Elementary School with a check for $700 for first place in this year’s “Think Yellow, Go Green Telephone Directory Recycling Contest”.  The contest included over 50 schools from five neighboring islands (Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui and Molokai).

The school collected nearly 7,000 pounds of directories, the equivalent of more than 2,300 phone books. In total, Hawaii schools helped The Berry Company collect and recycle more than 105 tons of outdated directories during the 2009 contest.

Full article link here….

The Canadian based Yellow Pages Group began inclusion of its new “ecoGuide” which is located within the first pages of the 2009-2010 Calgary Yellow Pages.  The ecoGuide was created in partnership with Earth Day Canada and The City of Calgary.   The guide, which is also available online at http://calgary.yellowpages.ca, is intended to be a local reference with helpful tips on responsible consumption.  It includes:

• a directory to Reuse & Recycle covering more than 400 household items such as tires, computers, electronics, mattresses, carpets and smoke detectors) to be disposed of ecologically and a list of addresses of where to take them
• a list of materials that are accepted/refused in recycling bins, along with details on the collection of green and hazardous domestic waste
• 35 ecological certifications to help consumers make more responsible purchases
• 15 simple ways to reduce our environmental impact (composting, tempering temperature reduce the water consumption, etc.) while saving fuel, electricity, water and of course, money.

The Recycle and Reuse directory should be a useful tool for residents to use in their daily efforts to support the environment.  For example, is a pizza box recyclable?  Apparently in some municipalities it is not, but it is accepted in The City of Calgary’s recycling program.

Kudo’s to YPG for this new consumer tool.  The full press release can be found here:

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Yellow-Pages-Group-TSX-YLO.UN-1054802.html

Kudos to the Cincinnati Reds and Cincinnati Bell Directory for working together on a new program to encourage their baseball fans to recycle old phone books/directories.

All fans that brought an old phone book to the Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers series which ran August 28-30 received a voucher good for a buy-one-get-one free ticket offer to the Reds vs. Florida Marlins game on Sept. 19.

Even Reds outfielder Chris Dickerson got involved — he is the founder and chief executive officer of WePlayGreen.org.  Dickerson wants to spread the word about the importance of recycling and alternative energy.

For more, go to:  http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Recycle-Old-Phone-Books-Get-Rewarded-By-The-Reds/Qtt7oL6aYE2g1e0DRcoSRA.cspx

from their joint press release:

The Yellow Pages industry’s two leading associations announced today the launch of www.yellowpagesoptout.com to help consumers choose which print directories they want delivered to their door steps.

“We want to give consumers a choice on how they access our local business information, whether it’s through print directories, Internet Yellow Pages, mobile apps, or search engines,” said Neg Norton, president, Yellow Pages Association.

“Yellowpagesoptout.com makes it simple for consumers to find
information about managing home delivery of print directories.”  Yellowpagesoptout.com aggregates delivery information for Yellow Pages publishers in one place, making consumer choice simple, secure and effective. Users type in their zip code and receive a list of local publishers with the appropriate steps to stop delivery or adjust the number of directory products they receive.

Because some consumers receive directories from more than one publisher, a critical feature of Yellowpagesoptout.com is the freedom for consumers to truly customize delivery. With Yellowpagesoptout.com, consumers can decide to continue receiving all directory products available in their area, keep some but not others, or stop all directory deliveries.
“Research shows that the vast majority want to keep at least one print directory in their home – no surprise since consumers reference print directories more than 12 billion times per year,” said Larry Angove, president and CEO, Association of Directory Publishers. “Yellowpagesoptout.com is all about choice. Consumers can review the list of publishers in their area and determine which products they want to receive.”

Protecting Privacy a Critical Concern
A number of third‐party Web sites not affiliated with Yellow Pages or telephone companies offer to add consumers to do not deliver lists on their behalf.

“We are asking consumers to use caution when providing personal information to third‐party Web sites,” Angove said. “It’s best if consumers work directly with the publishers that deliver to them, and Yellowpagesoptout.com is an easy starting point for that process.”

The industry’s two leading associations, the Yellow Pages Association and the Association of Directory Publishers, joined together to announce the Web site. Yellowpageoptout.com is managed by the Yellow Pages Association, which will work with members of both associations to ensure information on the site
is up to date.

Innovation Promoting Transformation
Today, Yellow Pages companies are transforming from directory publishers to central players in the fastgrowing local search industry, helping connect small businesses with consumers who are most ready to make a purchase.

“Our local data is available in a number of ways, including print phone books, Internet Yellow Pages, Google, and Yahoo! Local, for example.” Norton said. “Whatever way consumers choose to find a local business, chances are the last mile of the search was supported by Yellow Pages – whether the consumer knows it or not.”

Most of the paper atheists that visit this site love to scream that “most” people don’t want phone books, that they are obsolete, that they are environmentally damaging, blah blah blah.

So AT&T, the largest publisher has been systematically asking local Public Utilities Commissions, which by law REQUIRE THEM AS A TELCO TO PROVIDE WHITE PAGES TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY THEY SERVICE,  for permission to stop delivering the print white pages since their usage had most definitely droppedoff substantially.  You would think most of the naysayers would be hailing this action.  But instead the silence has been deafening.

The most interesting recent news on this front comes from the Cleveland area where AT&T received permission from the PUC of Ohio in February to stop delivering its “Real White Pages” to every household in its coverage area.  Following an article in the local newspaper (The Plain Dealer) on Wednesday announcing this new policy, AT&T got so many calls from people who still wanted copies that it overloaded their call center. Customers reported waited on hold for an hour or longer when they called 1-800-346-4377, and some calls were even rerouted to other call centers.  The company has had to add extra staff to handle the requests.

So much for no one  wanting those print phone books

HYP Media Finance rolled out a “Think Yellow, Go Green” Recycling Contest at more than 50 schools on the islands of Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, and Molokai.  During the month of May students were encouraged to participate in the contest with those schools that collected the most outdated directories per student winning cash prizes.  Link to full news article here.

In total some 16 tons of outdated directories were collected which follows 19 tons of phone books collected earlier this year in Oahu.  Now that’s some really great results to take note of.

Congrats to the students and the Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages Directories

To its credit, BCBusinessOnline.ca in a recent story became one of the few media sources to present the real facts on print Yellow Pages.  As the article noted:

But even in the Age of Google, it would appear, there’s still a market for the proverbial doorstop. Two independent U.S. studies confirm that approximately 70 per cent of the population uses print directories regularly to find local businesses.

“The Internet is not the be all and end all of local searches,” proclaims Olivier Vincent, president and CEO of Burnaby-based Canpages Inc.,…….When the basement is full of water, he points out, you’re not going to boot up the computer; you probably won’t even find Joe the plumber online.

“We hate waste just like everybody else,” Vincent declares. He points out that directory publishing supports the forest industry, which he says is the sole source of tree planting in B.C. He also notes an audit by Tree Canada that certified Canpages as carbon neutral by virtue of the thousands of trees it plants every year.

AT&T through its Southwestern Bell Telephone Company (company name it still operates under in the state of Missouri) has filed for permission with Missouri regulators to stop delivering the residential white pages book to homes in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas…

AT&T noted as it has in other markets where they and other publishers have filed similar requests (here and here) customers are not using the printed white pages as much to find telephone numbers. Instead, other methods including using the Internet are preferred. If approved, the phone company will mail a copy to customers that request one. The Yellow Pages will continue to be published and will include business white pages as of now.

The changes are not final yet — the Missouri Public Service Commission still has to approve the request.

The place to look for recycling information in Sonoma County, CA???  The Sonoma County sponsored recycling guide in the print Yellow Pages.

West County Gazette: Keep Sonoma County Clean – Stop Illegal Dumping
See the Sonoma County Recycle Guide in the AT&T Yellow Pages® under “R” for Recycling. • Learn more: www.KeepSonomaClean.org. So when you are out on the road again next spring, hopefully you will be able to enjoy the treasure of Sonoma …

The “Keep Amarillo Beautiful” campaign is getting a boost with the start of collection of old telephone books for recycling.

Kudos to AT&T for working with the city of Amarillo Solid Waste Department and the AT&T Yellow Pages in an annual effort to recycle old books.

Drop-off locations in Amarillo include the City Recycling Drop-off Centers, Fire Stations, and all Wal-Mart Supercenters.

This recent article noted that:

In 2008, more than 127 tons or 254,000 books were recycled compared with 2007’s 70 tons or 140,000 pounds, according to Keep Amarillo Beautiful.

Kudo’s to Wake County (local county where Raleigh is based) for expanding the opportunity for residents to recycle more.  Specific to phone books, this just announced:

In the past, Wake County offered drop off sites during a three-month period when telephone books were delivered. Over the last several years, directory distribution has increased and become a year-round process. The County has decided to expand the program at existing facilities, to keep pace with the market, giving residents and businesses the opportunity to recycle telephone books at anytime.

This effort is beng sponsored by AT&T Yellow Pages and R.H. Donnelley (publisher of Embarq Yellow Pages).  And yes, both companies are promoting the recycling sites in their respective directories.

Kudos to the Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages which is now partnering with a locally owned recycling company (Island Shell LLC), to convert outdated directories into oil absorbent materials, mulch, and insulation products which are then used locally (source).

The publisher is Hawaiian Telcom is also working with other local businesses, nonprofit organizations and shopping malls to provide drop-off locations where the public can recycle their outdated telephone directories.

Channel 5 – WLWT in Cincinnati reports that Cincinnati Bell has asked the Public Utilities Commission in Ohio for a waiver to cease the required annual devliver of  the printed White Pages to each residential customer.

This 1950’s era regulatory requirement made sense in the pre-Internet days when the Telco was the only source for numbers in the local area.  But attempts by publishers in several areas to discontinue this archaic practice have been met with resistance from local regulatory groups.  Most recently AT&T attempt to make this change in North Carolina and met significant resistance (source).  Most commissions view it as some kind of back door opportunity for the Telco to raise 411 – directory assistance rates, even though the changes have been supported by government recycling authorities.  In most markets in Canada, Yellow Pages Group is on a biennial distribution schedule for its residential white pages.

The value of commerce generate by the printed Yellow Pages is not the question here.  It is the value of printed residential white pages which do largely go unused.   I think the industry and consumers can gladly come together to support these type changes in every jurisdiction which still requires it.

Amy Healy, director of public policy for the Yellow Pages Association (YPA) was recently quoted on the Environmental Protection website that in the  more than 10 million references for “Recycling Centers” in the Yellow Pages annually.

Given their wide distribution, the print Yellow Pages are a great source for local recycling information.

From Reno, NV:

The 18th annual Phone Book Recycling program runs through December 31. Phone books can be recycled at local Scolari’s, Sak ‘N Save and AT&T offices.

For more, go here:  http://www.ktvn.com/Global/story.asp?S=9408269

From Yellow Pages Association press release:

--  Copper and scrap metal (16 percent)
--  Paper and newspapers (13 percent)
--  Glass, bottles, and plastic (7 percent)(1)

The Yellow Pages Association announced a new recycling program in conjunction with the printer RR Donnelley called “Recycle As You Shop” (RAYS). The RAYS effort is a recycling program being piloted in Maryland and designed to offer consumers and small businesses an added incentive to recycle paper products – including all types of telephone directories.

The pilot will begin November 1^st. It gives shoppers an opportunity to receive a $10 coupon at 25 participating Office Depot stores throughout Maryland just for dropping off recyclable paper products. Green in-store recycling containers carrying a “Don’t Come In Empty-Handed” sign will be located at select Office Depot store locations in the trial area. The website www.recycleasyoushop.com has additional details on the program.

The RAYS effort is a collaboration between RR Donnelley and various publishers from the Yellow Pages industry such as AT&T Yellow Pages, Idearc Media Corp, and RHD/Dex, as well as non-industry entities such as Hearst Magazines, Sundance Catalog and Waste Management.

If the pilot is successful if may be expanded to additional parts of the country.

The Yellow Pages Association (YPA) stepped up its efforts to inform and educate by today introducing the “Think Green Column” on its “Yellow is Green” Environmental Web site.

YPA indicates the Think Green Columns will appear monthly to share opinions, ideas and even historical perspectives on the environment and the yellow pages.

In its press release, Neg Norton, president of YPA said:

“As Yellow Pages are the lifeline for many small businesses trying to reach ready-to-buy consumers, it’s imperative for our organization to provide a forum where yellow pages and environmental industry influencers can share their views and break new ground,”

The inaugural issue features John Howell from Nippon Paper Industries’ Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Drawing on his nearly 30 years of working in the yellow pages paper industry, he discusses the paper supply challenges facing the Yellow Pages industry today including increased demand from China for fiber; low fiber availability due to the housing market decline; and environmental pressures from proposed Yellow Pages legislation. John was instrumental in helping YP Talk with its extensive article on “How Paper is Made”.

Kudo’s to YPA for adding this effort. The more positive conversation we can generate, the better it will be for the industry overall. There are still plenty of uninformed advertisers and users that need to hear the real story behind what the industry provides.

Kudo’s to AT&T for a new partnership with Hutchinson, KS’s “Green Team” (link to full story). A proposal will go before the Hutchinson City Council for final approval next week for a four-page insert listing area recyclers, educational information about recycling, Web links and more in the upcoming December edition of the Reno County (KS) area directory .

The Green Team is a group of city staff and citizens who are working on recycling issues in the town, and the Green Pages project was born out of the Team’s desire to update a Reno County recycling brochure that was distributed by the health department nearly a decade ago.

Because they “didn’t want to print a bunch of material that would end up in trashcans” (Meryl Dye, Green Team member) the group approached the AT&T yellow pages about having green pages. In exchange for the green pages inclusion on the AT&T phone book, the Green Team will promote the AT&T’s sponsorship of the project.

Because the book is provided to every house hold in the area, the local government can be assured that residents have ready access to the recycling information they need.

And all this in a printed Yellow Pages.

One of the arguments that the industry makes to the anti-print Yellow Pages crowd who get so twisted that they receive 6, 7, or more directories a year at their doorstep, is that the marketplace will ultimately decided which products survive and prosper, and which exit the business.

With the unprecedented growth in book publishing over the past few years, outside of a few very small, somewhat dubious publishers, there really haven’t been many cases we could definitively point to where that was true, until yesterday.

Reports from various sources (Kelsey Group, others) indicate that Idearc will cease production of some 28 independent directory titles which amounts to some 7.6 million copies (or about 6% of their total distribution). This will also result in about 200 people being laid-off and several offices being closed.

What brought this about? Current economic conditions certainly where a contributor but the growing volume of Yellow Pages in some markets will just not support the level of small business leads needed to provide the ROI required by advertisers. In effect, too much competition diluted what every publisher could offer to its advertisers.

As a result, the marketplace decided which products should continue and which should leave.

Kudos to the Yellow Pages Group (YPG) which today announced the launch of a pilot project an “EcoFinder” directory section to promote businesses that provide environmentally-preferable products or services or that have leading environmental operational practices. Here is link to company press release.

During the month of May, residents of Laval, Saint-Eustache, Sainte-Thérèse, and Terrebonne, will receive the enhanced Yellow Pages with this new section. The introduction of this new section follow a recent YPG survey which revealed that 93% of Quebec residents thought the creation of a section like this was a good idea and 88% confirmed that they would like both a print and online version.

Who says that print Yellow Pages can’t be the preferred source for environmental oriented shopping information?? With it’s wide distribution in the community, you would have to believe that other publishers will also jump on this trend which further supports the value of Yellow Pages in these environmentally sensitive times…

While many of the bloggers and other phone book haters don’t want to believe it, the Yellow Page industry has once again stepped up its efforts to be even more environmentally friendly.

Even though the industry uses no virgin trees to make its paper (earlier post here), water soluble inks, and glues that allow the entire book to be recycled, now the Yellow Pages Association (YPA), in concert with the Association of Directory Publishers (ADP), announced formal Joint Environmental Guidelines for the directory publishing industry.

Already the guidelines have been adopted by most  major publishers representing some 90+ percent of the industry output.  The Guidelines focus on source reduction of directories (white and yellow), enhanced recycling programs and environmentally sensitive manufacturing practices.

So DO NOT believe the many bogus blog posts you read that the industry is responsible for cluttering landfills (directories are only about .3% of the total waste stream), that we are wasting precious resources (publishers use on average about 40% recycled content in their paper), or that they will not allow people to opt out of their products.  It just ain’t true.

But those so vehemently insist THEY don’t want a book — how are you going to find that local computer repair store when your PC is busted????  Maybe you should keep at least one of those print “dinosaurs” around just in case.

A recent YP Talk article (link) presented an interesting focus on an often over-looked product – the plastic bag in which print Yellow Pages are delivered.

The article covers opportunities for publishers in three areas – the functionality of the bags, the branding messages the bags can have, and the green/environmental aspects. It is that last one item that is the subject of this commentary.

We all know plastic bags in general have become a huge environmental issue. A separate website has even been set up (click here) regarding them and nearly every food store/supermarket has begun programs to either eliminate bags in favor of reusable bags, or has strongly encouraged recycling of old bags (one example).

The newest opportunity for Yellow Page publishers is to consider the use of new post-consumer recycled bags (plastics recovered from a previous use and remanufactured). “Post-consumer resin” is a term used to describe material that has been reused or recycled after it has been in the consumer’s hands. This could include plastic products such as beverage/food containers, agricultural use plastic sheeting or retail bags. The use of Post-consumer plastic content in a flexible packaging product offers several advantages:

1. A portion of the raw material used to make a Polyethylene bag (starting at 30 to 50 percent) is derived from recovered plastic. The use of non-renewable natural gas and/or oil is reduced.
2. Purchasing post-consumer resin helps support the entire recycling process and helps create jobs in North America. Materials must be collected, sorted and reprocessed back into usable recycled plastic resin.
3. Raw materials such as plastic are diverted away from landfill locations. Valuable land is saved and energy contained within the plastic is recovered.
4. Post-Consumer plastic materials can also be recycled again back into finished plastic products.

“We have a range of products which are truly greener than many of the options publishers are currently using” was what we were told by Peter Taylor at Discovery Packaging. Not only that, “we are ready to work with publishers to help them redesign their bags to reduce the amount of plastics they are using” Taylor continued.

But Discovery is not stopping there. “We introduced our first ‘green’ film as a start. By mid to late 2008 we plan to introduce a new line of sustainable bio-based films made using raw materials derived from corn, switch-grass or sugarcane. As effective film alternatives are identified and developed we plan to offer these to our customers. We look forward to working with publishers on these new eco-friendlier products”

Taylor makes several good points:

- Use post-consumer recycled materials
- Cut down on the size of the bag and/or reduce the gauge of the bag to use less plastics

- Consider switching to new “green” film
- Communicate to the users what you are doing in your publisher efforts that are eco-oriented

Publishers do have options. Discovery Packaging is certainly one of them they should consider.

It seems like the Napa Valley area in California has some issues lately with recycling. Local officials are noting that whether it’s the soft economy or maybe even the rise in home foreclosures, but the number of illegal garbage dumps is growing. People seem to think nothing of pushing that old worn out sofa or dead car battery to the curb, or even worse, to the backend of a dark, dead-end street. “The word is out. If you put something on the street, the city will pick up,” said Steve Barragan, a public works worker quoted in a recent Napa Valley Register article.

The local paper did its part in providing online readers a list of how to properly get rid of their junk the correct way. By one comment that caught my eye was this one:

“…For more information, check out the recycling guide in the Yellow Pages of the AT&T phone book or call 257-9292…”.

Yes, those supposedly tree killing, non-eco-friendly AT&T print Yellow Pages that many online bloggers have voiced their objection to actually have a garbage and recycling insert. This little example points to an important trend that print publishers can follow in the growing green/environmental war – the print Yellow Pages being a reference source that doesn’t require a broadband connection, or a pc to access for important, relevant information on how to be more eco-freidnly in detail.

More and more I am seeing websites that provide environmental tips including comments like this one:

Recycling Fact Sheet: Create a local recycling fact sheet for yourself and interested neighbors. The local Yellow Pages, Internet Consumer Recycling Guide and Recycling Resources are great resources.

(Source: http://www.globalstewards.org/ecotips.htm)

The easiest predication you can make for 2008 for Yellow Page print publishers is that every directory will have green/eco-tips in them. And what a great branding, marketing, and public relations opportunity!!! What other source will be readily available in over 90+% of all homes year round?? The print Yellow Pages, of course.

Missed an opportunity to commend Valley YP  for their efforts noted in a late November release which contained the following (I have added bold highlighting to key comments):

 The new eco-friendly Napa Valley Yellow Pages directory is currently being distributed to over 50,000 area businesses and households. Valley Yellow Pages’ eco-friendly approach developed a more environmentally friendly product. All Valley Yellow Pages directories have always been 100% recyclable, but now the new Napa directory is printed using 35% recycled materials, recyclable soybean-based ink as well as recyclable glue! “Not only are we committed to providing our customers with a convenient and user-friendly tool for finding local information, but we are also dedicated to protecting the environment,” states Sieg Fischer, President and CEO of Valley Yellow Pages. “By constantly refining the composition of our directories, we are contributing to the commitment of recycling and saving the environment.”The Napa Valley Yellow Pages directory features a comprehensive Recycling Guide, found under “R” in the yellow pages. This guide provides information on business and residential recycling programs as well as information on recyclable products. Curbside Collection and Drop-off Locations are also listed in the guide, making it easy for consumers to recycle. Valley Yellow Pages has partnered with the City and County of Napa to become increasingly more ecologically conscious. The Recycling Guide is funded by the City and County of Napa, NRWS/NCRWS, Upper Valley Waste Management Agency, Napa-Vallejo Waste Management Authority, California Integrated Waste Management Board and the California Department of Conservation.

Consumers can also visit www.MyYP.com for an online directory of local businesses. This site features the same community-based content as the printed book, but also includes the ability to click through to an advertiser’s website. Through MyYP.com, residents now have access to Valley Yellow Pages information at their fingertips anywhere, anytime.

Congrats to Valley for spreading the word on what they are doing to be eco-friendly…

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