9 October 2006 - Abolishing the limit on junk mail deliveries to people's homes will damage the environment and cost council tax payers more, the Royal Mail was warned today.
Under existing rules, postmen are allowed to deliver only three unaddressed items a week to any home. Royal Mail is seeking to scrap this limit altogether.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned that lifting the three-items-per-week limit will lead to an increase in unwanted deliveries. Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, Chairman of the LGA, has written to Adam Crozier, Royal Mail chief executive, expressing 'grave concerns' for the council tax payer and the environment.
"I am concerned that the expansion in 'junk mail' will lead to an increase in the amount of paper that is either thrown into landfill or has to be collected in recycling bins," he said. "This comes at a time when councils are trying to minimise waste, increase recycling and are striving to provide value for money to the taxpayer. Every extra tonne of rubbish that goes into landfill costs the taxpayer an extra £100, and any steps that can reduce this cost is one less burden on the hard pressed council taxpayer.
"More junk mail for services people do not want or need will only lead to an increase in the amount of unnecessary rubbish created and could place further pressures on the council taxpayer through no fault of either the council or local people."
Royal Mail delivered a record 3.3bn door-to-door items last year - a rise of 12.1 per cent on 2004. The LGA has said a move to boost this would increase the 78,000 tonnes of junk mail put in landfill sites each year.
The amount of waste generated is at present increasing at around 3 per cent a year. According to the LGA this has led to a 15% rise in landfill tax this year and £206 million more of council taxpayers' money being spent on collecting and disposing rubbish in the last 12 months.
A Royal Mail spokesman didn't deny these figures, but said that "the LGA is are entirely wrong in thinking anything Royal Mail has done will lead to 'unlimited' amounts of unaddressed mailings being sent to people's homes."
A spokesman for the Communication Workers Union, with whom Royal Mail is negotiating scrapping the three-items-per-week limit, said yesterday that its members were 'not exactly jumping for joy' at the prospect of delivering more junk mail. The spokesman said: "We realise we have to be competitive but at the same time we want to ensure postmen are not overloaded."