Recycle my identity, why don't you?

Whilst having your identity stolen as a result of the Governments mishandling of the Child Benefit database would be pretty galling, there is another, much more worrying, effect of Darling Alistair’s’ calamitous cock-up.

Government has been lambasting us all to increase our green consciousness. Turn lights off! Insulate your home! Recycle! Recycle more!... and if you don’t we’ll tax you! Hey what the hell, we’ll tax you anyway!

One of the core discussions within my Junk Mail world is how to recycle more. We can use recyclable materials, use fewer toxins in print and paper manufacturer, simply send less junk would be a good start. But……… if consumers don’t recycle no matter how hard we try as an industry it won’t make the slightest difference to the amount of junk mail that ends up clogging up what little landfill we still have available.

A well known and accepted fact is that one of the major barriers to consumers embracing the recycling of junk mail is the fear of having their identities stolen from the details included in a credit card offer or catalogue mailing. A few months ago data showed that consumers where actively starting to recycle more junk mail, local authorities confirmed as much. I would happily put more than a few quid on those numbers falling in the coming months as we see consumer confidence in a secure recycling process wane as quickly as the public confidence in HMRC!

Ironic really when Darling Alistair’s department will be the main beneficiaries of any green tax that is introduced.