PLATTSBURGH — Joan Fischer shuffled through her mail in the post office on Miller street.
She divided the mail she wanted, held it under her arm, then casually dropped the junk mail into one of the two blue bins marked "Recyclable Mail."
The bins stand against a wall directly in front of people as they exit the post office. With their glaring white recyclable symbol, the containers are intended to catch the eye of those who might otherwise throw junk mail in the trash.
"It is really convenient if you don't want to take certain mail home," the Plattsburgh woman said. "I believe in recycling, and I think we should have these bins everywhere."
Catherine Collins, also of Plattsburgh, agreed.
"I use it every time I come in here," she said. "Usually I have junk mail, so it is very convenient because I don't have to take it home."
Eugene Woods, supervisor of customer services at the post office, said the bins have been very effective and are quickly filled with the mail people do not want or need.
However, he reiterated that people still need to remember not to throw their unwanted mail in the trash. In order for the post office to recycle the mail, it must be go into a blue bin.
Fischer said she noticed people who completely ignore the bins and still throw mail in the garbage.
SMART RECYCLING
Woods also said consumers are not the only ones who have the opportunity to recycle.
"We take recycling very seriously here," he said. "Every carrier has their own recycling bin for things that need to be recycled."
"Smart recycling is good business," Maureen Marian, U.S. Postal Service public affairs specialist, said in a phone interview from Syracuse. "Our customers expect it. We let our consumers know that our products come from recycled material and are recyclable."
Marian said she understands people have a concern about what happens to the mail they recycle. The recyclable mail collected in this area goes to the Postal Service's regional facility in Albany, via vehicles already in transit. The entire process is designed to be environmentally efficient.
"We commingle with other post offices from around the region and take it to the next level," she said. "The mail, itself, continues to be more and more environmentally friendly."
Those other post offices include the one in Ticonderoga and the Malone facility; staff there said the recycle bins have been a hit, there, too.
Marian said the Postal Service looks to expand the positive impact into the community. Leading by example is the best mechanism to create environmental awareness, she noted. As well as providing the recycle bins, the post offices are huge in terms of fluorescent bulbs that are more environmentally gentle, among other things, she said, adding that such measures not only do the right thing for the post office revenue-wise but for the community as well.
However, she said, there is still no method that can make people to recycle who don't choose to do so.
"We are able to assist those customers who want to recycle," she said. "By putting the recycle bins in the post office, we give people the opportunity to do it. It is a conscious reminder to any person in the post office."
