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Monday, February 13, 2012

Enviro Throwing the Book at You

Posted by Dominic Holden on Mon, Feb 13, 2012 at 4:18 PM

You don't want the White Pages?

Well they don't want to give it to you. But they have to. Only 16 states have repealed this idiotic law, the Sightline Institute explains. And if you live in Washington State—you're not in one of them. Phone companies "must provide each customer a copy of the directory for the customer's local exchange area," according to the Washington Administrative Code.

Sightline's Eric de Place proposes a simple fix. Strike that sentence and replace it with a single forest-saving line of text that says: phone companies "must provide each customer with a postcard notice that automatic delivery will be terminated, along with instructions to opt in to ongoing free delivery of a copy of the directory for the customer’s local exchange area."

That would save about 1,200 tons of paper in Washington every year.

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Comments (9) RSS

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How does this "phone companies don't want to give you phone books" cartoon jive with Dex fighting tooth and nail against O'Brien's legislation that allowed people to opt out of receiving phone books?

Posted by Mike on February 13, 2012 at 4:41 PM

Mike,

It's the difference between the Yellow Pages and the White Pages. Phone companies want to distribute the Yellow Pages because they make money on them by selling ads.

By contrast, the White Pages are only a cost to the phone companies, so they'd like to reduce the number they deliver. So, unlike the the Yellow Pages, the White Pages fix offers a perfect win-win for residents and the telcoms.

Posted by Eric de Place on February 13, 2012 at 4:52 PM

Better question...

Why do you have a landline phone?

Posted by SeattleSeven on February 13, 2012 at 5:23 PM

I wish I had a White Pages book. They are so useful. I haven't seen one in years in Seattle, and assumed that phone companies had already stopped distributing them.

Posted by treacle on February 13, 2012 at 7:52 PM

Thanks, Eric!

Posted by Mike on February 13, 2012 at 8:13 PM

Should be noted that "local exchange" at the time this law was enacted was not area code, but the three digit exchange number (two letters one numeral) that prefaced your four digit phone number.

So by law, right now all they really are required to provide, for instance, to The Stranger offices would be listings for the EAst 3 exchange (i.e.: 323-xxxx).

Posted by Timrrr on February 13, 2012 at 8:27 PM

Comment by Helenka (also a Canuck) on February 13, 2012 at 9:24 PM 7

7
closing tags for the previous commenter.

Posted by Helenka (also a Canuck) on February 13, 2012 at 9:24 PM

Comment by Helenka (also a Canuck) on February 13, 2012 at 9:26 PM 8

8
now why am I in italics?

Posted by Helenka (also a Canuck) on February 13, 2012 at 9:26 PM

Comment by Canadian Nurse on February 14, 2012 at 6:07 PM 9