Don’t call it “Junk Mail”

My friend Alesia J. Reese, proud employee of the United States Postal Service, gently chides me not to use the term “junk mail”. She points out that the mail is not ‘junk’ to the thousands of advertisers, businesses and non-profit organizations who use its services. And mail is not ‘junk’ to millions of Americans who connect daily (6 days a week, 52 weeks a year) with the letter carrier who delivers this information – sometimes, the only face many residents see at their home.

Facts I didn’t know:

* Most Post Offices provide recycling receptacles, and the Post Office is a premiere recycling agency.

* Bulk mail containing returned nonperishable food products, especially baby formula, is processed (personal information removed) and forwarded to the Oregon Food Bank. Portland’s Main Office is one of the few Post Offices in the country to do so.

So what should we call the mail formerly known as junk? Alesia says the Post Office refers to mail in several ways:

* Non-Profit Mail – Churches, schools, environmental, religious groups, etc.;

* Bulk Business Mail – Some catalogs, coupons and promotions;

* Standard Mail – Other catalogs, flyers and samples like detergent, razors, and diapers.

Thank you for the information, Reese. I shall strive to remember.