Recycling junk mail

Every day brings more junk mail - both from private companies and government agencies.

Such mail rarely mentions whether the paper used is recyclable or not. Unfortunately, most of the junk mail appears to be non-recyclable as it is glossy. Senders of such mail should specify whether it is recyclable.

The central government and local councils should moreover take the lead by using recyclable - and recycled - paper, particularly for the various magazines they distribute on a regular basis. I would urge the government to pass simple but effective regulations which set green standards for the distribution of bulk mail. For starters, it should ban the distribution of bulk mail printed on non-recyclable paper.

It should also oblige government departments and public entities to buy paper items which respect the environment - which are not bleached and ideally contain a minimum percentage of post-consumer recycled material. In this way the government would help generate more demand for recycled paper.