I try to keep our kitchen organized, but by the week’s end our countertop is piled with junk mail. Bulky catalogs, coupons, credit card solicitations, magazine subscription forms, and pleas to donate to animal shelters, cancer charities and orphanages. The other day I received a complimentary diaper. While I occasionally write for parenting publications, I’m not a parent myself. I stared at the mound of papers (and the diaper) and decided I needed to do my part to help stop the 105 billion pieces of junk mail distributed in the United States each year. But how?

There’s a Do Not Call Registry, but no Do Not Mail Registry. Services such as Catalog Choice contact companies and request opt-outs on behalf of consumers. According to Chuck Teller, Catalog Choice’s executive director, a number of Do Not Mail bills have been introduced at the state level. None has made it all the way through the process. The city of Seattle has had recent success with a resolution urging the Washington State Legislature to establish a statewide Do Not Mail Registry.