In the techno-savvy 21st century, you would think that there is absolutely no need for an old-fashioned paper phone book. Environmentalists have been lobbying for years to have them outlawed but others insist that they are still a necessary part of modern life. Let’s look at the green credentials of paper phone books vs Internet online directories.
At first glance, it would seem a no-brainer; phone books use huge amounts of paper, manufactured from trees using large amounts of power and water, and need to be disposed of when a new one comes out. This means that there is a huge influx of these books into landfill and recycling depots at certain times of the year. The other side of the coin is the online directories, the Internet, or phone books. They need no non-renewable resources to manufacture; they use no power or energy to produce. From a purely green perspective, the online phone book wins hands down over the paper version.
Even the phone book industry has joined the fight; there are now Internet versions of both the White Pages and the Yellow Pages in many countries. These are in addition to the printed versions. The main area of complaint from those who advocate stopping the paper books is that every household and business gets a phone book delivered, whether it is needed at that address or not. In several US states, there are petitions and organizations aimed at banning the indiscriminate delivery of phone books, insisting that only people who request them should receive them.
A survey held in 2009 showed that over 80% of adults in the United States would be prepared to opt out of automatically receiving a white pages paper phone book at their home or business. This followed results of a 2008 Gallup Poll that showed that just 11% of households actually still relied on the paper phone book. This figure had been at 25% in 2005. From an environmental aspect, there certainly does seem to be a case for a reduction in the number of books printed, so that only those who needed one would receive one.
Of course, the people involved in the phone book industry would disagree; after all, their jobs depend on the situation staying the way it is. This is a $30 billion dollar industry in North America and those who work in it have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. From a cost perspective, the paper phone book uses a lot of taxpayers’ money to recycle the old phone books when they are discarded, even though much of this waste is then used in the manufacture of other paper products.
Those who want to see the end of paper phone books claim that in the age of laptops, smart phones and other hand-held communication devices, they simply are obsolete. But what about the percent of people who don’t own the technology for accessing Internet phone directories; those who don’t understand the technology; and those who live in areas where there is no internet service? How are these folks supposed to find the information that phone books contain?
From a purely practical point of view, opponents of the paper phone book say that there is much more information available in Internet directories vs phone books. The printed versions only contain name, address and landline number of people or businesses in a local area; the online ones are also able to show website and email addresses as well as mobile phone numbers of people and companies across the state and country. This is especially important in the Yellow Pages directory for businesses as the extra information helps consumers access a company’s information more easily. In addition to this, the information contained in the paper books is invariably out of date by the time residents get their new book. Because it takes several months to print and compile the book, some information will invariably have changed between the collection of data and the delivery of the books.
So, the greenest option in the debate of paper phone books vs online directories is definitely the online version. A slightly less-green option would be to opt-out of having a phone book delivered to your home or business; this is available in many areas by phoning a special number on the cover of the phone book. It will take effect from the next phone book printed. Still green is the action you choose to take when a new phone book is delivered; recycle the old one in an appropriate manner and certainly don’t send it to landfill.
So, what kind of phone book do you use?
I couldn’t tell you the last time I used an actual paper phone book. No, wait – I can. Awhile back I needed to write something down and I used the phone book underneath the piece of paper I was writing on.
I know very few people who have landlines, so a phone book isn’t much use anymore. And I can get a business phone number easily by googling, so I can’t think of any reason to keep getting a phone book. I’d love the ability to opt out!
More places should offer the opt out option. It would save a ton of money and paper. I am like you, I have a cell phone and no landline. I can Google any number I need. I think I have used them for writing surfaces but that is it.
I remember the last time I used a phone book. I used it to prop up my monitor stand so I could get a little bit of extra height!
My mother does ask me about once a year if I have a phone book for her to look up a number in. I tell her I don’t have one because I use the internet :)
I personally find phone books to be rather useful. There are many ways to repurpose an old phone book, and they are recyclable. My wife is a piano teacher and wraps them in duct tape to make adjustable heights on the bench and as a foot stool.
Foot stool. Great idea. I didn’t think of that.
That’s crazy that it’s still a $30 billion dollar industry! You make a good point about folks who might not have access to the internet. Not that that’s a good reason to keep printing phone books for everyone…
We do need a better solution for those with no internet but I don’t think it is printing billions of dollars of phone books. What happens when people can’t read?!
The last time I used a phone book was at a hotel to find a nearby bar. Other than that, I honestly can’t remember the last time I used one. I would be all for getting rid of them all together, or requiring users to opt into them.
At least you can remember the last time you used one. I can’t.
My wife and I were talking about this just last week. We had a contractor laying hardwood who needed to use the phonebook to look up a number. My wife jokingly asked, “What’s that?” and had the number within 15 seconds on her phone.
I think that it would better to opt-in to receiving one rather than opt out. I am no tech geek, but I simply walk the yellow pages from my porch to the trash can so I don’t even get to use as a writing surface.
That is a funny story. Some people are just used to old habit. I wish we could get away from getting our books too. We don’t use them at all. They just get recycled.