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Accompanying Fact Sheet:
New U.S. Postal Service Regulations
on Donations of Undelivered Items
How Food Banks, Non-Profits Can Benefit
On Oct. 31, 2002, new U.S. Postal Service regulations went into effect that will make it easier for U.S. post offices to donate undelivered product samples and other undelivered items to food banks and homeless shelters. The new regulations should also increase the number of items that are donated.
Provisions of the new regulations include:
- The new streamlined, simplified language makes it clear that undelivered items should be "impartially and equitably" donated by local post offices to food banks, shelters and other charitable non-profits that agree to distribute them for free.
- For the first time, post offices are officially allowed to donate undelivered, unopened over-the-counter drugs (aspirin samples, for example) and toiletries (soap, toothpaste, etc.) to food banks and other non-profits.
- There is no longer a requirement that a non-profit that receives these donated items from the Postal Service needs to be partly or fully supported by government funding. (The old regulations implied that preference should be given to donating the items to hospitals, prisons and municipal welfare departments.)
How can my organization benefit from these changes?
Any food bank or other charitable non-profit can contact their local post office and ask to be put on a list to receive undelivered product samples and other undelivered items. For food items, the receiving organization may be required to sign a release taking full responsibility for the handling and use of the items.
Although all post offices have received notice of the new regulations in the U.S. Postal Bulletin, it may be several weeks or months before some post offices are totally familiar with the new regulations, so be patient. Keep in mind that local post offices still have some leeway in how they interpret these regulations.
Food banks or other non-profits interested in receiving these items are encouraged to print out a copy of the regulations and take it to their post office when inquiring about this. The Internet version of the new regulations (in the Postal Bulletin) is at:
http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/2002/pb22088.pdf (This is an Adobe Acrobat "PDF" file.) On the left, click on "Domestic Mail" and then scroll down to the heading, "Dead Mail." To print out the new regulations, just print pages 17 and 18.
Why were the regulations changed? The Postal Service wanted to make these items available to people who could use them, while at the same time reducing the amount of waste they dispose of. The Reuse Development Organization (ReDO) and the National Waste Prevention Coalition asked the Postal Service to make these changes and worked with the agency in developing the regulations, which involved a long process of more than two years.
Questions? Contact ReDO at 317/631-5395 or Second Harvest at 312/263-2303.
Sent by: Julie L. Rhodes, Executive Director
Reuse Development Organization, Inc.
PO Box 441363
Indianapolis, Indiana 46244
317/631-5395 fax 317/631-5396
info@redo.org www.redo.org
ReDO: Making more reuse happen faster!
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