Middleton tackling waste by controlling unwanted mail, phonebooks | Environment

To combat unwanted mail, the city of Middleton has joined forces with communities across the country to debut a zero-waste initiative that will allow consumers to stop unwanted phone books, catalogs, coupons and credit card solicitations at the source.

The free service, designed by Catalog Choice, will help Middleton shed millions of pounds of waste and thousands of dollars in costs. Middleton residents and businesses can sign up for the mail preference service at https://middleton.catalogchoice.org.

Middleton is a leader taking strides toward a zero-waste mission and is setting a positive precedent for consumer choice, said Chuck Teller, Executive Director of Catalog Choice in a news release.

With the annual collection and landfill cost of the mailings estimated at up to $10 per household, the cost savings will be significant.

"This program will be a great benefit for our community and helps move us toward our adopted sustainability goal of reducing the total amount of solid waste that is collected per person in Middleton," said City Administrator Mike Davis, in a news release. "The current amount of solid waste -- garbage and recycling -- per Middleton resident is about 830 pounds, and the city’s adopted goal is to decrease that 10 percent by 2015."