[greenyes] Recycling and newspaper circulation

[Amy Perlmutter <amyperl@no.address>]

John:

I don¹t know if this is relevant or not, but many years ago (maybe 1987 or
1988) in San Francisco, we got the newspaper agency who handled delivery for
the 2 major newspapers to give us a donation to help us insert newspaper
recycling starter kits (basically a paper bag with instructions: step 1,
insert paper, step 2, repeat step one until bag full, step 3, recycle) into
all home deliveries of the paper.  I can¹t remember if they donated the
insertion labor and/or money to print the bags. Somehow I have the figure of
a $10,000 donation in my head. In any case, the reason they gave us for
doing that was that people were ending their subscriptions because their
newspapers were piling up and they didn¹t know what to do with them. They
saw promoting recycling as a way to retain customers.  We had a curbside
recycling program we were promoting, as well as drop off centers.

Amy

Amy Perlmutter  Perlmutter Associates 23 Avon Street Cambridge, MA 02138
617-354-5456


> Has anyone seen a study that might indicate how recycling requirements might
> affect the number of people who subscribe to the newspaper?
>  
> In our area, the two newspapers (one morning and one afternoon) have found
> that circulation is declining in our central city, but increasing in
> outlying areas.
>  
> While all our communities have mandatory recycling for newspapers, the
> newspapers have had an anecdotal suggestion that the method of recycling
> newspapers in the central city may be discouraging people there from
> subscribing to the newspapers.
>  
> Any leads would be welcome !
>  
> Thanks much, 
>  
> John