Bill To Force Making Promotional CDs Returnable Gets Returned
from the so-much-for-that-plan dept
A bill in the state of California to force companies sending out promotional CD or DVDs to include postage-paid return envelopes has been returned itself after a committee voted to dismiss the proposal. No reason is given in the article, though AOL was happy that they wouldn't have been "taxed" for filling up landfills with useless CDs.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
New idea
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Rewritable not returnable
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Lets get creative !
As John points out:
I too miss the old days of Aol 2.5 when the data came on a floppy. My Dad and I always blanked them and never bought new floppy disks as we had a steady supply compliments of Aohell. If the disks they were sending out today were CD-RW's @ LEAST we could blank them and use them again. Aol would also benefit from millions of adverts on the front of peoples critical data back up disks.
As to junk mail:
For years I have been taking junk mail ( including Aohell CD's ) and stuffing it back in ANY postage paid envelope that has been sent to me. I don't care what the junk is and I don't care what company receives it.
I also took the back sheets of some 8.5 x 11 paper and recycled them through the printer. On each sheet I printed approximately 25 messages per page that state: " I am required to pay to dispose of trash in my township based on the amount of volume I create. Since you have chosen to send me unsolicited advertisements with a postage paid envelope I am giving you the opportunity to pay to dispose of your own waste within your community. " Get creative ... send credit card offers ( with critical data blanked out ) to charities. Send requests to refinance your home to magazine subscription services. Mail Sprint an offer from ATT or Verizon. Stuff left over salt & ketchup packs into the envelope. Hell, tape them to a nice red brick and place them in an outgoing mail drop. Let the advertisers pay for their pollution !
Not only does it get me removed from the mailing lists, but it cuts down on waste in landfills, keeps the postal people busy & keeps my home clutter free.
On a side note, I've considered signing up for every piece of junk mail I can get on and use the raw materials sent to me as fuel for an incinerator heated home ... I figure that I could cut my heating bill by about 40% ...
[ link to this | view in thread ]