UK government drives reform of direct mail suppression system
A new website will launch in April 2012 seeking to make it much easier for householders to opt out of receiving direct marketing materials through the mail. The UK government is driving the project, working closely with the Direct Marketing Association, which will replace the current “out-dated” system in which consumers must register on three separate websites or by applying by post to stop different types of direct mail from being delivered.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says the initiative will reduce the amount of waste produced, but the DMA also welcomes the project as a chance to improve the targeting of direct marketing.
“Untarged and irrelevant advertising mail is not welcome – it’s this we want to eliminate,” said Chris Combemale, the executive director at the DMA.
“Unwanted mail is an annoyance and an unnecessary cost to business. By cutting this out we will also be improving the environmental performance of the industry.”
Currently, UK residents are steered towards the DMA’s own Mailing Preference Service (MPS), another called the Your Choice Preference System and the Royal Mail’s own Door-to-Door opt-out service for its unaddressed mail. It is believed more than 4.5m people have registered with the MPS.
Waste
Defra is currently working to crack down on unwanted direct mail in the UK in order to cut the amount of waste that requiring disposal in environmentally-harmful landfills.
In 2009, the UK direct marketing industry produced 380,000 tonnes of mail. By 2014, the government department wants to see a 25% cut in wasted direct mail.
It is also trying to persuade the direct mail industry to produce mailings that are both easily recycled by consumers and also made from recyclable or sustainable materials.
UK environment secretary Caroline Spelman said: “This deal with the Direct Marketing Association will give people more control over what gets posted through their letterbox but also to make sure the direct mail we do find useful is produced to higher standards and is fully recyclable.”
