Postal Service: Go Green This Holiday Season

The United States Postal Service is predicting Tuesday, Dec. 20 will be the busiest day of the year for sending mail so if you were hoping to avoid the long lines, well maybe next year. However, you can still send packages “green” according to the postal service. 

Green Packaging

The Postal Service has established rigorous sustainable green packaging standards for its Priority Mail and Express Mail supplies, and a majority of ReadyPost boxes, envelopes and labels, according to a press release. By buying packaging made with recycled content, USPS helps sustain green jobs in America as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions to the environment. Priority Mail and Express Mail supplies are free to customers and can be delivered at no charge by ordering from thePost Office that's always open 24 hours a day.

Green Postage

Tens of billions of postage products, including stamps and stamped envelopes and postal cards, are made with post-consumer recycled content, providing an environmentally responsible use for America’s waste paper. Festive holiday stamps can add just the right touch to seasonal greeting cards and a large assortment of holiday stamps and customized holiday cards is available at the Postal Store.

 Green Shipping

Customers can save fuel this Yule by ordering free shipping supplies, print shipping labels and pay for postage, all from the comfort of home or office. The Postal Service will pick up packages free the next business day and send them on their merry way to cheer loved ones wherever they are. Skip the trip and save time, money and fuel this holiday season.

 Green Delivery

The Postal Service will deliver 16.5 billion cards, letters and packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve using the largest civilian fleet in the world — 215,000 vehicles. Among them are a range of alternative fuel-capable vehicles, including three-wheeled electric vehicles with zero gas emissions that operate at a cost of only 2 cents a mile, as well as vehicles that can operate on compressed natural gas, propane, ethanol, and fuel cell. 

Recycling

The Postal Service has made recycling a priority. Secure recycle bins in more than 10,000 Post Office lobbies make it easy for customers to read, respond and recycle their PO Box mail during the holidays, and helped customers divert approximately 56,000 tons of paper from landfills last year. The Postal Service recycled nearly 225,000 tons of paper, plastics and other waste in 2010, which avoided more than 700,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information about going green with USPS, visit usps.com/green and the usps green newsroom.

Information from USPS.