House Bill 387: Distribution of Telephone Books
Telephone distributors and publishers are currently delivering a phone book for every phone line in the state. Households that have multiple lines receive more than one phone book or set of phone books, creating not just an inconvenience to the resident but also recycling and land-fill issues.
HB 387 addresses this waste and nuisance by limiting the publishers and distributors to delivery of one book, or set of books, unless a resident requests more.
In 2007, from April to August, the Anchorage recycling center collected 284 tons of phone books. This however does not include books that were simply thrown away or put into mixed paper bins at the recycling center. A phone book consists of low grade paper and is difficult to recycle compared to other paper products. This bill will reduce the burden on the recycling centers of Alaska.
While other states introduced legislation that instituted an opt-out directory to address this issue, HB 387 is a simplified alternative. Because this bill continues to allow publishers and distributors to dispense their telephone directory to each household there is no substantial hindrance on free market competition.