SF Ponders Ban on Yellow Pages

As the internet rolls through all sectors of our businesses and lives, is a six-inch-thick collection of paper really the most efficient way to get a company's telephone number?

San Francisco is pondering a ban of the unsolicited delivery of the Yellow Pages, thanks to Board of Supervisors' President David Chiu, according to SFGate.com.

In response, a trade group has set up an opt-out web page, where consumers can voluntarily decide to not receive the publication.

Chiu claims that 1.6 million books are delivered annually in the city, creating a hypothetical stack that would be 300 Trans America buildings tall. Also, there is a $1 million cost to recycle all those tomes, too.

But the recycling aspect is touted by the publisher as a good thing, as they defend their right to distribute the amarillo pages.

The Yellow Pages Association may legally challenge the ban, they told the Gate.

The SF Chronicle called area businesses to see if they still advertised in the brick-and-paper book.

More than a dozen businesses contacted by The Chronicle said they no longer advertise in the Yellow Pages. "We get a lot more mileage online," said Carol Covington, owner of Blow Up Lab, a digital photo and graphics business in the city.

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