YellowPagesGoesGreen.org Lauds Green Initiatives; Partners With Environmental Organizations, Adds New Features

San Francisco and Seattle are only the beginning. Grassroots efforts across the United States will lay the groundwork for the elimination of unwanted, unused and unnecessary printed phone books.

East Northport, NY (PRWEB) August 03, 2011

Years ago, a television commercial for frozen dinners featured the jingle, “From the freezer, to the oven, to the table….” That memory came to mind while considering the lifecycle of the typical paper yellow directory: From the doorstep, to the garbage, to the landfill. Of course, there's a big difference; if people don't want to eat frozen dinners, they don't have to buy them. Shouldn't the same be true for printed phone directories? It will be in the City of San Francisco starting next May, when yellow book publishers and distributors become subject to fines of up to $500 per violation if they deliver yellow pages directories to residents who have not previously requested them or agreed to accept them upon delivery. This legislation, the “opt-in” model, is the first of its kind in the country and, ideally, will serve as a template for local jurisdictions across the United States in their efforts to cut waste, save resources, and preserve the environment via legislation to curtail the unsolicited delivery of printed yellow books.

YellowPagesGoesGreen.org, an online directory of business listings owned by Yellow Pages Directory, Inc. has partnered with the Green Chamber of Commerce to encourage more local legislative initiatives aimed at stopping the proliferation of unwanted yellow pages directories. While the opt-in model chosen by San Francisco unquestionably promises the most optimal environmental result, the opt-out model recently enacted by the City of Seattle also has the potential for huge benefit. Seattle, which has launched its own municipal “opt-out” registry, is now imposing fines of up to $125 per book on companies who deliver yellow directories to those on the city's opt-out list, while charging publishers a fee of 14 cents per directory delivered in the city.

Seattle's law has also recently withstood a legal challenge in federal court by the yellow pages industry. San Francisco's opt-in ordinance is currently being challenged in court, bringing to light two ironically noteworthy facts. First, the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, is being brought by a trade group called the Local Search Association. Who are they? Why, they're the old Yellow Pages Association with a new name that has eliminating all reference to the color yellow. The Local Search Association, formerly the Yellow Pages Association, is arguing against San Francisco's opt-in legislation with the claim that it violates their First Amendment rights. Instead, they call for an opt-out model to achieve the goal of waste reduction in San Francisco. If you can't beat ‘em….

YellowPagesGoesGreen.org provides a simple, feature rich and environmentally friendly alternative to print directories with its online version of business listings. Additional new features on the web site including driving directions showing how to get to a business are a case in point. Simply search for the business you seek and click for the listing details -- to the right of the listing you'll see not only a street map with the precise location of that business pinpointed but you will also find driving directions from your location below the listing with one quick-click. Ask yourself when the last time was in which you received directions from a printed listing in a telephone book? Must you take yet an additional step to then find out how to get there? Online alternatives to print are exceptionally detailed, more practical for today's consumer and at the end of the day simply better for the environment preventing the disastrous waste cast upon our world from unnecessary landfills of print.

Yellow Pages Directory Inc., owner of both YellowPagesGoesGreen.org and PaperlessPetition.org, offers an environmentally-friendly Web-based alternative to paper telephone directories while providing a simple and convenient mechanism for customers to opt out from the receipt of printed yellow books. Both web sites have been instrumental in promoting opt-out awareness across the United States over the past several years, and allowing users to reduce their own environmental footprints in the process. Yellow Pages Directory Inc. has also taken steps to reduce its own impact on the environment through the use of the most up-to-date and energy-efficient web-hosting services available.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebyellow-pages/no-more-print/prweb8693391.htm