Thursday, August 5, 2010

Check out my Junk!


So what have I been doing over the month of July? Simple answer. I've been collecting my junk mail. Usually I just take all the crap that turns up in out mailbox and throw it straight into the recycling bin. However I got seized by an idea.


I decided to see how much junk mail I receive in a month. This is the final result. Flyers. Leaflets. Giveaway papers filled with Ads. Now I'll be honest with you July turned out to be a bit of a lean month for junk mail but it still made a pretty heavy pile. I weighted it on the bathroom scales and it came up 2.5kgs.



So lets do some simple math. 2.5 multiplied by 12 months. That's 30kgs! Now according to WikiAnswers 1.3 million people live here in Auckland. Now I don't have access to how many homes there are but lets say four people to a residence. That's about 325,000 houses. Multiply that by 30kgs. That's around about 9,750 tons of junk mail a year!


Once more for the hard of hearing 9,750 tons!


The same weight as a WWII Royal Navy Cruiser. Now also it takes 17 trees to make one ton of paper. So that's 165,750 trees that die so we can hear that pizzas now have 10% more cheese.



I am not by any stretch of the imagination a tree hugger but I can't stand junk mail. I'll be putting one of those "No Junk Mail" signs on my mail box. But can I - one man - make a difference? Auckland city council if you're listening then please stop this unsolicited madness! Love and hugs. Nick Ward. Now what will I do this month?


Anyone else want to weigh their junk? Go on I dare you.

8 comments:

  1. Holy Crap! I knew the recycling box was heavy because I take it out to the alley every Wednesday but I never really thought of it like you explains. Imagine what it is like world wide. It may take years but things like this are what enters the consciousness of the students I teach today. Hopefully things like this waste and oil spills will make the next generation eager to change things. Great post brother Nick.

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  2. Dunno about weighing junk, but I did get to see Sharn's junk this evening.
    Why oh why did I buy them all more beers?

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  3. That's awesome work Nick! I too will put a 'no junk mail' sign on my letterbox!!
    Shit balls - poor ol trees :(

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  4. Reading junk mail cover to cover (even Hammer Hardware occasionally) is one of my guilty pleasures. I get really annoyed if my flatmates chuck things out before I have a chance to read them! And, in perhaps a good warning, we are having a 4 week trial of getting the newspaper and I find that (like my mother) I can't throw it out til I've read all of it, and even then there is a reluctance to just recycle it...
    It's probably also worth noting that I virtually never go in to buy something that I've seen advertised. Sorry trees!

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  5. Hello Nick. Do some writing for dog's sake. You've been as slack about doing real writing as I have this month. I am a girly swot and already have a No advertising materials sign on my letterbox... specifically to ensure that I have less to carry up to the street once a fortnight and so that I can't be distracted by the more cheese on pizza miracle of which you speak. The innuendo in your article is of course hilarious. I know I have weighed individual parts of my anatomy - anyone willing to own up to weighing theirs? Tanya XX

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  6. Hi Nick.

    I stopped by and fixed your letterbox while you were away. Having read your post, I now wonder if this was a good idea.

    Hope I did the right thing.

    regards
    steve
    the guy who drove into your letterbox

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  7. Steve! The phantom mailbox fixer. Thanks heaps.

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