The Race against Waste: Some horses funked the fences

national | environment | event notice Tuesday April 05, 2005 18:18 by John Fitz johnfitzg at connect dot ie

Phonebooks & Golden Pages weigh 5,000 tons cost €20 million

We paid 20 million Euro for Golden Pages and Phonebook issued last year . Half ot that, or maybe more, is waste. Do you want to pay again this year? If not- Act NOW- details below

The 3.4 million Directories were issued last year by Golden Pages

If you don't need either book instruct (email or letter for record) your service provider e.g. Eircom or O2 or etc and Golden Pages (who distribute both) not to deliver it (or them). Use old directories, 11811- directory enquiries, or www.eircom.net etc to easily get numbers. Ask for a refund of the saved production cost- €6 per book.

Act now to avoid a print overrun & and having to pay again this year for unwanted issues. The case is made

After 6 months of phone calls and emails last year, Golden Pages arranged for the directories (supplied contrary to my instruction to Eircom & them not to do so) to be collected from me in January ’05.

A simple email (or letter) as below is adequate. If your service provider is O2, Smart or other than Eircom put that address in also
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To: info@goldenpages.ie, ccm@eircom.ie, consumerline@comreg.ie
CC:
Sent:
Subject: Unwanted Directories Your Phone no here. your account no here.

To: The Manager Golden Pages, The Manager Eircom Customer Care, The Director Comreg

A Chairde,

To minimise waste, please do not send me the Phonebook or Golden Pages any more. Please confirm that my instructions are logged and will be complied with. Please arrange to credit my account €12 production cost.

Regards,

Signed:
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If phoning note the operators name & time and date of call. Ask for confirmation that your instruction has been logged and will be complied with Eircom Freephone 1800 400 000 Golden Pages Distribution: Freephone 1800 20 20 20

For those who are not customers of Eircom the freephone numbers for other service providers are at the bottom of the first page of the Phone Book (Telephone directory)

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Inform your employer, friends, etc also so they can minimise requirements. Tell them that Golden Pages are making special arrangements to put directories on company networks. Apparently the Gardai take 10,000 copies and UCD a similar amount. Use your, and you colleagues influence to full effect.

We all get a bonus for this kind of action- a better environment and cheaper phone service.


If you feel enthusiastic about this go a bit further- email, phone or write to Comreg & the Secretary of the Dept of the Environment as follows

To:The Director, Comreg, consumerline@comreg.ie
The Secretary General, secretary-general@environ.ie

Subject: Unwanted Phone Directories are Junk mail Why should we pay

Dear Director and Secretary General

Please arrange that-

1. the Irish regulation that requires a phonebook to be given to all households is amended to “households that want it only”. Likewise, the Golden Pages. This is to comply with Government and EU policy of minimising waste.
2. telephone service providers be directed to notify all their customers that directories would be provided only to those that return a request form in a pre addressed envelope supplied.
3. a rebate of €6 (production cost) per directory be given to customers not taking directories
4. all be informed of the options for getting required numbers, 11811 internet etc
5. a “new numbers” addendum, for a number of years, be offered to those needing paper directories and
6. a CD (at cost) to those with PCs but not on the internet and

that this be expedited to minimise waste this year

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter

Yours truly,

Signed:-