Local Search Association Celebrates Keep America Beautiful's 'America Recycles Day'

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J., Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As hundreds of thousands across the country celebrate the 15^th annual America Recycles Day, a national initiative of Keep America Beautiful, Yellow Pages publishers are reminding consumers nationwide to recycle outdated phone books and take a few easy steps to select which print phone directories they receive at home.

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Many consumers rely on print Yellow Pages to find local businesses, emergency information, and local government information. Outdated phone books are 100 percent recyclable and should be disposed of through curbside recycling programs or other local recycling initiatives.

Some consumers, however, prefer to only use digital and mobile platforms for local search.  In those cases, consumers can quickly and easily stop delivery of directories at home by visiting www.YellowPagesOptOut.com. The website offers:

• An easy way for consumers to stop the delivery of one, several or all directories to their homes.
• Images of directory covers and delivery schedules, making it easy for consumers to identify which directories to include in their opt-out requests.
• Email confirmation to confirm participants' selections.
• Complete privacy as consumers' personal information is used for the sole purpose of optimizing their Yellow Pages experience and will never be sold to third parties.

This centralized website, a collaboration between the Local Search Association and the Association of Directory Publishers, is a significant industry effort that includes participation of publishers across the country to make sure that delivery requests are honored and updated on a timely basis.

"Keep America Beautiful believes that it's the responsibility of all Americans to evaluate how we can live more sustainably, so we're always looking for ways that people can easily do just that," said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president of recycling at Keep America Beautiful. "The Local Search Association provides a very simple solution to reduce your paper footprint with www.YellowPagesOptOut.com if you determine you do not need to receive a phone book."

"Sustainable practices are a priority for the local search industry," said Neg Norton, president, Local Search Association.  "We help people buy locally.  Sales facilitated by Yellow Pages not only help local economies, create jobs and sustain diverse local cultures, but also reduce energy usage by encouraging consumers to buy closer to home.  Even though local search is uniquely sustainable, we want to reduce our industry's footprint as much as possible.  We've made great progress and we look forward to working with KAB to spread awareness of our initiatives across the country." 

Local Search Sustainability Highlights

In 2012, the industry reached the milestone of 50 percent directory paper source reduction since 2007.  This decrease has been driven by changes in the size of directories, more efficient manufacturing, an industry-sponsored effort to reduce printed residential white pages, a general decline in the number of directories distributed, and the www.YellowPagesOptOut.com website.

The industry continues to print on paper that is manufactured from a combination of recycled paper waste and leftover scraps of sawdust and woodchips from lumber production processes whenever available. Publishers have also turned to soy-based and non-toxic inks, glues and dyes used in printing and production processes.

About the Local Search Association
The Local Search Association (www.localsearchassociation.org) is the largest trade organization of print, digital, mobile and social media that help local businesses get found and selected by ready-to-buy consumers.  Association members include U.S. and international directory publishers, search engine marketers, online listings and review sites, digital advertising agencies and mobile search providers. The Association has members in 29 countries.

Read the Local Search Association blog www.localsearchinsider.com and follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/LocalSearchAssn) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/LocalSearchAssn).  To choose which phone directories you receive or stop delivery, visit www.YellowPagesOptOut.com.

About Keep America Beautiful, Inc.
Keep America Beautiful is the nation's leading nonprofit that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. With a network of more than 1,200 affiliate and participating organizations including state recycling organizations, we work with millions of volunteers to take action in their communities. Keep America Beautiful offers solutions that create clean, beautiful public places, reduce waste and increase recycling, generate positive impact on local economies and inspire generations of environmental stewards. Through our programs and public-private partnerships, we engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community's environment. For more information, visit www.kab.org.

About America Recycles Day
America Recycles Day is a national program of Keep America Beautiful, and is the only nationally recognized day and community-driven awareness event dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the U.S.  Since its inception in 1997, communities across the country have participated in America Recycles Day on November 15 to educate, promote environmental citizenship, and encourage action. Learn more at http://americarecyclesday.org/.

CONTACT:
David Fishman
Fleishman-Hillard
212-453-2115
[email protected]

SOURCE Local Search Association

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