The Dutch may . . . choose not to get junk mail. They have a simple solution: mailbox stickers. If they want to receive mail addressed only to "resident," they post a "Ja" decal, meaning "yes." If they don't want unsolicited fliers, ads, and credit-card offers, they post a "Nee" sticker, for "no."
--Quoted from Rick Steves' weekly column
Actually, it's a bit more complex than that. As explained on the Linux Journal, "the first JA (Yes) or NEE (No) indicates the person's preference for receiving unaddressed, flyer-type advertisements. The second JA or NEE is the preference for receiving free publications. Stickers in all combinations of yes/no are available."
You can read more about this great idea on the Stop Junk Mail Blog - which is mostly focused on the U.K., but the founder of that web site is a Dutchman who worked as a postman in the Netherlands.
I wonder what happens to the left over items?
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ReplyDeleteI never thought about that, Jon! Hopefully they get recycled - and the company putting them out knows how many didn't get delivered, so they can print fewer in the future.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe they know approximately how many households have the stickers, so there aren't that many left over to begin with.
stopjunkmailblog.blogspot.com says, ". . . most Dutch businesses seem to be of the opinion that it makes little sense to deliver advertisements to people who are not interested. By supporting the sticker system they are producing less leaflets to reach the same target group, thereby saving money and doing their bit for the environment."