Actually, there's a much better thing to do, but maybe less fun and subversive.

http://www.junkbusters.com/ has been noded elsewhere, but really only for its anti e-junk-mail and anti-banner ad utilities. Where Junkbusters really, truly excels is at reducing paper junk mail and phone spam. It's run by a nonprofit group here in Cambridge, MA that is not part of the industry and genuinely hates junk mail.

You sign up and create a profile which as much or as little demographic and preference information as you care to give out. Click, and it will use your profile to generate pre-addressed, printer-ready pages that conform to the diverse and bizarre requirements of all the big junk mail companies, without you having to do the legwork to find all this out. All you do is fold, stamp, and mail. Some of the companies just remove you without a fuss, others will send you a confirmation letter that you must return to them. You can then delete your profile if you don't trust Junkbusters.

Shortly after my last move, I did the Junkbusters thing for my new (and old) addresses. Now when you move to a new address, there are several blessed weeks before the junk mail conspiracy discovers you there and the deluge begins. But thanks to Junkbusters, the deluge was just a trickle. Unlike the email spam, I saw little evidence that the paper junk mail companies had used the information I provided to turn around and spam me. Doing it for my old address as well as the new one presumably reduced the mail that ends up in the dead letter office.

Finally, a word about recycling. Sure, your community might have recycling. Never mind that much of the material that is collected for recycling gets landfilled anyhow because they can't find any manufacturers to use the material...recycling just feels right. But remember, recycling is only one of the three R's (in order of importance): Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Paper takes a lot of steps to produce, and it uses a lot of energy, water, and chemicals. If you prevent one item of paper from being generated, it helps the environment as much as recycling many, many paper items.

Sure it's fun to send in that brick, subscribe Verizon to Penthouse, and carry that separate bin to the curb every week. C'mon back and node the results. But if you really want a wholesale reduction in your junk mail, be sure to brush with Junkbusters after every move! Ready...Okay...SPIT. Ahhh....