Unaddressed mail

The lead article in the business supplement (September 18) deals with the problem of unaddressed mail.

There are very important items for the MCA and any other authority to deal with in this new gimmick, namely:

A. Environmental - A large number of this unsolicited and junk mail is more often than not thrown out in the street and left lying about for days on end, or at least until the street cleaners make their monthly limited run.

B. Recycling - We are being told to re-cycle paper. Hardly any of these leaflets use recycled paper and those thrown away will never be recycled.

C. Security - Overflowing letter boxes are a clear sign that the residence has been unoccupied for a number of days, "inviting" burglars to have a free run of the place.

D. Nuisance - Because of clogged letter boxes, the normal mail cannot be posted properly. In wet weather this can be damaged. In good weather, important mail can be lost or stolen.

E. Utter stupidity - Obviously vacant premises are still regaled with this junk mail. Who is being kidded? Obviously the advertiser as he pays by the amount supposedly delivered.

F. Futility - St Paul's Bay (as a case in point). Many buildings are used for only two or three months each year. Still, this junk mail is invariably delivered even between October and June. Even if the residents do pay an occasional visit, they would already have seen (and probably discarded) the copy received at their winter residence.

G. Taken for a ride - the advertisers, who might think they have circumvented the organised postal system (presumably to save money) get a lower return on their investment and have no way of ascertaining the number actually delivered, how many are fictitious and addresses still under construction, and how many are being left in "holiday" premises that are either vacant or occupied by foreigners who would have no interest in local services.

Therefore, the MCA (or whoever) should not only regulate, but also make sure that junk and unsolicited mail is controlled. In UK (at least) no advertiser can send unsolicited mail unless the recipient approves. As a start, how about stickers on letter boxes stating "No junk or unsolicited mail".