Catalog Choice - You decide what gets in.

… in enabling choice and reducing waste.  The Seattle Public Utilities & Neighborhoods Committee unanimously approved Council Bill 116954, the first legislated opt-out program for unwanted paper-based advertising in the United States.

AN ORDINANCE relating to solid waste reduction; establishing license requirements for publishers of yellow pages phone books; establishing an opt-out registry and a recovery fee for yellow pages phone books, and amending the Seattle Municipal Code by creating a new Chapter 6.255.

According to Councilmember Mike O’Brien, there are three primary objectives of the ordinance:

1. Reduce waste.  The production, distribution and disposal of unwanted telephone directories is not efficient to business, citizens and governments.  In the area of waste management, Seattle is doing a great job but also recognizes that they have to do a better job in this area.
2. Provide an opt-out system that works for the residents of Seattle.  The system must be easy to navigate, be a one-stop shop and most importantly, be enforceable.  When a resident or business state their delivery preference, they need to know there is a mechanism to guarantee that their preference will be honored or there will be penalties for non-compliance.
3. Producer responsibility.  The city is shifting the costs of recycling (includes pickup and processing) from citizens to those who profit from the product – the directory publishers.

The version of the ordinance that was approved today is version 8.  The Seattle staff has worked extremely hard to develop this legislation.  Some of the key elements that they addressed in the ordinance are:

• Your opt-out request will remain in effect until the business or resident moves or requests to be taken off the suppression list.
• Recovery fee – they have created a two tier fee that reflects the difference size of directories.  All publishers will be charged $0.14 per book to pay for the opt-out program and $148 per ton of books distributed for collection and processing.
• Distribution requirements – a portion of the cover will have to identify a phone number, website and address that one can use to opt-out.  Publishers must maintain a list of consumers who have opted-out.
• Opt-in exemption.  While many have called for an opt-in program, the city decided to focus on an opt-out model, which  is more consistent with the process used for direct mail and name sharing.  To encourage opt-in programs and not subject member organizations that distribute directories, the ordinance will exempt any publisher that uses an opt-in model for the distribution of the directory.

Councilmember Conlin, who originally introduced this topic as part of the Do Not Mail resolution concisely summarized the program as one that is focused on “regulating those who deliver the directory to our home or business without our consent.”

Fast forward to 16:21 in the video below to hear Mike O’Brien’s discussion of the objectives of the ordinance and staff’s description of some of the key elements noted above.