Santa Fe has been named the second most mail-efficient for the 4th month in a row, according to Catalog Choice’s Mail Stop Index—the monthly meter of the communities who opt-out of the most unwanted advertising mail per capita and is published monthly at http://mailstopindex.catalogchoice.org/. Residents and businesses in the City and County of Santa Fe have opted-out of 11,500 (and counting) catalogs, phone books, and junk mail since July 2011.

“Getting rid of unwanted mail helps ease the burden of paper waste on the environment, while allowing communities to achieve their zero waste goals,” said Chuck Teller, Chief Strategy Officer, TrustedID. “We applaud these communities—especially those in California, Colorado and Washington—for their concerted and collaborative effort to allow residents to put an end to unwanted mail.”

The Most Mail-Efficient Metro Areas in June 2012:

1. Boulder, CO

2. Santa Fe, NM

3. Seattle, WA

4. Fort Collins, CO

5. Ithaca, NY

6. Durango, CO

7. Napa, CA

8 Truckee, CA

9. Olympia, WA

10. Portland, OR

11. San Francisco, CA

12. Bridgeport, CT

13. Moses Lake, WA

14. Ukiah, CA

15. Edwards, CO

16. San Jose, CA

17. Durham, NC

18. Austin, TX

19. Boston, MA

20. Bend, OR

On average, each U.S. household receives over 720 pieces of advertising mail annually—46 percent of which is never read. It costs municipalities upwards of $1 billion to collect and dispose of the 10 billion pounds of solid waste created each year by direct advertising mail. During June 2012, these communities collectively opted out of enough company marketing lists to save roughly 200,000 pounds of solid waste and 1,400 trees annually.

Santa Fe residents and businesses can sign up for the free mail preference service by visiting http://www.catalogchoice.org. It’s easy, secure, and FREE!