Season's Greenings from the U.S. Postal Service

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Nov 22, 2010, 11:55 ET

Five Easy Ways to Go Green, Save Green

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Postal Service is the top choice for customers who want to go green and save green this holiday season.

"We want customers to know they can trust their holiday cards and packages to USPS. We're one of the greenest mailing and shipping companies in the world," said Sam Pulcrano, vice president, Sustainability. "With more than a half billion eco-friendly shipping supplies, free package pickup and holiday cards printed on recycled paper available in 1,600 Post Offices, the Postal Service is setting a green example."

USPS offers customers options to help reduce their carbon footprints, just as it consistently seeks ways to reduce its own environmental impact.

"We have a fleet of feet delivering mail the greenest way possible, by walking," Pulcrano added. "More than 9,000 of our carriers will be delivering holiday mail on foot this season. And we also have 80,000 'park and loop' routes, where carriers will drive vehicles from the post office to neighborhoods and then deliver those holiday packages and cards by walking."

Green Packaging

USPS is the only mailing and shipping company in the world to have earned Cradle to Cradle Certification(CM) for the environmentally friendly design of both its Priority Mail and Express Mail supplies, and a majority of ReadyPost boxes, envelopes and labels. Priority Mail and Express Mail supplies are free to customers and can be delivered at no charge by ordering from the Post Office that's always open 24 hours a day at usps.com/green/eco-packaging

Green Postage

All 27 billion postage products, including stamps, personalized envelopes and stamped postal cards, are now Cradle to Cradle Certified(CM) — designed to be safe and environmentally responsible. Festive holiday stamps add just the right touch to seasonal greeting cards. Find a large assortment of holiday stamps and customized holiday cards, visit the Postal Store at usps.com/green_postalstore_holiday stamps and the card store at usps.com/createmail/cardstore

Green Shipping

usps.com/green_free shipping supplies can help customers save fuel this Yule by going online to order free shipping supplies, print shipping labels and pay for postage, all from the comfort of home or office. The Postal Service will pick up packages free the next business day and send them on their merry way to cheer loved ones wherever they are. Skip the trip and save time, money and fuel this holiday season.

Green Delivery

The Postal Service will deliver 15.8 billion cards, letters and packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve using the largest civilian fleet in the world — 216,000 vehicles. Among them are a range of alternative fuel-capable vehicles, including three-wheeled electric vehicles with zero gas emissions that operate at a cost of only 2 cents a mile, as well as vehicles that can operate on compressed natural gas, propane, ethanol, and fuel cell. We'll also have 30 large all-electric trucks delivering holiday mail in Manhattan.

Recycling

The Postal Service has made recycling a priority. Secure recycle bins in more than 10,000 Post Office lobbies make it easy for customers to read, respond and recycle their PO Box mail during the holidays, and helped customers divert 56,000 tons of paper from landfills last year. The Postal Service recycled 225,000 tons of paper, plastics and other waste in 2009, which avoided more than 700,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Customers can go to usps.com/green to find one of 100,000 recycling centers around the country.

The Postal Service has won more than 75 environmental awards, including 40 White House Closing the Circle, 10 Environmental Protection Agency WasteWise Partner of the Year, Climate Action Champion, Direct Marketing Association Green Echo, and the Postal Technology International Environmental Achievement of the Year.

For more information about going green with USPS, visit usps.com/green and the green newsroom.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Visit the Postal Service's interactive holiday press room at usps.com/holidaynewsroom

Please note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/news.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.