France is cracking down on the tonnes of unsolicited junk mail and advertising brochures put through letterboxes each year, warning of unnecessary waste and damage to the environment.
For more than a decade, households in France that do not want to receive piles of unaddressed advertising leaflets have been able to put a sticker on their letterbox saying “no to advertising”. But the government acknowledged this approach had failed and has changed tack.
From September, instead of people opting out of junk mail, several trial areas will have an opt-in system. Anyone who still wants to receive unaddressed advertising mailouts, such as catalogues for supermarket special offers, can display a sticker saying “yes to advertising”. For all others there will be a ban on any unaddressed flyers or advertising being put through their letterboxes.
The scheme will be under trial in areas including the cities of Bordeaux, Grenoble and Nancy. After three years it will be assessed, and environmental groups hope it will be rolled out across the country.
The decision reflects growing anger in France at the waste and environmental impact of junk mail, much of which goes unread. The citizens’ assembly, which was put in place by Emmanuel Macron in 2020 to advise on cutting carbon emissions and boosting climate policy, initially advised the government to ban junk mail altogether.
Instead, the government opted to cut down on unaddressed advertising flyers as part of a law to reduce waste.
Despite a small proportion of people displaying “no to advertising stickers”, the state environmental agency, Ademe, found that almost 900,000 tonnes of unaddressed junk mail continued to be distributed each year, and that “a significant part of that is thrown away without being read”.
An estimated 12kg of advertising printouts a head are received in France every year. Even if the leaflets can be recycled, their production and distribution as well as the waste created is considered to have a significant environmental impact.
Grégoire Fraty, who sat on the citizens’ assembly for the climate, called the new trial scheme “a positive step forward” and hoped it would be made national.
The environment minister, Christophe Béchu, said the ban on advertising leaflets amounted to “concrete action” for more restraint and less waste.
#OuiPub | Dès demain, la distribution automatique de prospectus publicitaires sera interdite dans les boîtes aux lettres.
— Christophe Béchu (@ChristopheBechu) August 31, 2022
Cette expérimentation testée dans 13 communes est une action concrète pour plus de sobriété et moins de gaspillage. pic.twitter.com/xQOYb9YA8t
People in the trial areas who want to continue receiving advertising flyers can collect a “yes” sticker from their town hall or local authorities.
In Lanvollon, Brittany, which is taking part in the trial, the local representative Jean-Michel Geffroy told TF1 TV that previously “half of the tonnage of advertising material went unread and was put straight into the recycling bin”. He hoped that the new scheme would stop at least 200 tonnes a year of junk mail ending up in the waste system.
