550,000 tonnes of junk mail hit UK doormats

Published on Tuesday 7 February 2006 00:31

THE tide of junk mail that flows through British letterboxes every day has been put at more than 21 billion items a year.

According to official figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats, the annual total of unsolicited mail and hand-delivered flyers weighs about 550,000 tonnes.

Since only 13 per cent of the flyers, letters, promotions and other "direct mail" are ever recycled, junk mail annually consumes nearly three million trees.

In 2003, the government and the Direct Marketing Association agreed a target of 70 per cent for recycling junk mail, but the Department for the Environment has accepted that progress towards that goal is slow.

"Certain adhesives that are used in the production of some direct mail can contaminate the recycling process and consequently make recycling difficult and expensive in certain cases," Ben Bradshaw, an environment minister, said in a written parliamentary answer.

Norman Baker, the Lib Dem environment spokesman who obtained the new figures, said they proved the voluntary agreement was failing and called for tougher curbs on junk mail.

"People have the right to say no to unwanted mail and for that right to be upheld by the law," he said.