Canada Post has launched an advertising campaign to encourage people to take down their No Flyers stickers. CBC reports that the agency is sending 900,000 letters across the country to encourage citizens to accept junk mail. The No Flyers stickers, an acceptable form of notice that Canada Post employees will respect, is a popular option for residents to prevent much of the unsolicited mail received from advertisers.
“The letter reminds residents that flyers, catalogues, product samples and community notices can ‘save you money and keep you connected with your local community.'” The underlying reason for the campaign is that Canada Post makes money on every flyer it distributes.
It is disturbing that a Crown Corporation should try to convince Canadians to accept more junk mail, a product that clutters our homes and is needlessly damaging to the environment.
About the 900,000 letters they sent:
- It takes as many as 100 full grown trees to produce 900,000 letters (not including the envelopes).
- These trees could have sequestered a tonne of carbon and stored and recycled 50,000 litres of stormwater each year.
- They also could have provided important habitat and enhanced biodiversity.
Green Action Centre sells No Flyers stickers for $2. Buy a set for yourself and all your neighbours, or consider making a donation to help us continue to produce these and other resources!
Right now I feel like I’m doing battle with Postmedia FlyerForce to stop delivering flyers to my house. Over the past 8 months I’ve completed the online form opt out form 6 times. Why do they need my email address and phone number (unlisted) in order to stop delivering flyers? Metroland used to deliver flyers. They honoured my opt-out request effective the next week and without needing my email and phone number.
The links to the Privacy statement in both English and French is broken so I have no way of knowing what they are doing with that information.
I’ve called and was told it would take 6 weeks to stop the flyers. Why so long? It’s been more than 2 months and the flyers keep coming. I pointed out to the call taker that people need to trust that their request be honoured. Should they be away from their home and don’t want flyers piling up, they need to know that their request to stop delivery will be acted upon. She couldn’t have cared less so I asked if I had to escalate matters by complaining to my local city councillor. The answer was, “We can’t control you so do want you want.” In other words we’re not concerned with any action a city councillor may take. They should be because the Mayor of Montreal managed to ban delivery of flyers except when citizens opted in.
I’ve even intercepted the van driver, handed them back to him, pointed to my house and asked that he not deliver to my house anymore. The flyers keep coming.
Environmental groups call the flyers an environmental disaster.
Bottom line – the companies (grocery stores, pharmaceutical companies, hardware store giants, etc) that pay for creation and distribution of flyers don’t care about the environment, your wishes or your house’s safety. To minimize the risk of a break in or having squatters move in Police advise home owners to cancel flyers when away from home. Postmedia Flyer Force doesn’t care.
Just got off the phone with MPP Mike Schreiner office. The suggestion was fill out an online form on the City of Gueph’s website complaining about litter and to call the Bylaw office about litter. When it’s flying about the street what’s the Bylaw officer going to do? Their mode of operation is to warn and then fine repeat offenders. Who would they fine?
I have a sign on my box and still receive flyers every day! It’s very frusterating.
That has happened to me before as well! How frustrating.
Canada post has a helpful page about this issue! https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/kb/details.page?article=how_to_stop_receivin&cattype=kb&cat=receiving&subcat=maildelivery
Follow the link and there’s a spot to input a service ticket.
If you’re getting flyers from somebody other than Canada post, look up the companies that may be sending them (like SUN media) and call them to request a “stop delivery”. Good luck!
Canada Post customers are not aware that by simply applying a” no flyers” sign on their mail box, the carriers will not deliver flyers. Maybe we could try to get this out there.