"I am still learning because as soon as my junk mail column was posted on the Internet, I started began hearing "solutions" from readers who had their own ideas about junk mail. Some radical ideas, at that.

'Simply return all of those prepaid envelopes back to their origin," wrote one reader. 'This will cost the perpetrators in two ways; for the return postage and for the manpower it will take to open all of that returned mail. Besides the personal satisfaction of knowing that you have reciprocated the annoyance, this act will generate revenue for the U.S. Postal Service.'

A reader from Bremerton says: 'I haven't kept statistics, but I swear that we get way fewer solicitations now than we used to receive.' More than a dozen people echoed those comments. I also received conventional responses, messages from readers who take every step to remove their name from mailing lists.

A mail carrier from Bainbridge Island -- she could even be my home carrier -- wrote a thoughtful note from her perspective 'as a dedicated environmentalist, I couldn't agree with you more concerning the issue of waste.'"

Get the Story:
Mark Trahant: Readers reply, prepaid, to junk mail (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 6/19)

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