I used to work for a local directory, as the Internet Yellow Pages Manager (why I have done the research). I don’t work there any more. Still, my work history doesn’t change the facts. Phonebooks are not the evil everyone wants to make them out to be, and the internet is not as clean as it seems.

By the way, it wasn’t Yellow Pages, it was The Black Book from Hagadone Directories, http://www.blackphonebook.com

If you make me reveal myself, you’ll have to deal with the shameless plugs, um, for my former employer (so what’s in it for me?)

The EPA Facts and Figures Report breaks down numbers for production, recycling and trash. What blew my mind – and lost me a bet – are these numbers:

1. 650 Thousand Tons of Phonebooks are generated in the US each year. 36.9% is recycled (and from another source: 50-100% of a new phonebook is made from pre- and post-consumer recycled materials and green inks and dyes in the first place)

2. 3.16 Million Tons of E-Waste (computers, smart phones, etc) are generated in the US each year. Only 13.6% is recycled. (and the contents of e-waste are a lot more toxic to the environment).

At least, if a phonebook is sitting around for too long in the wet it turns back into mulch – an old computer will just leach chemicals. I literally mulched my garden with last year’s phonebook. Plus, not having one is sort of short-sighted. When my power went out in an ice storm I was reeeealy glad I had a phonebook (and a land line).

I did the math. You should see the numbers for junkmail and disposable diapers – MUCH worse than phonebooks (for some reason, 0% of Pampers are recycled… I wonder why ;-)

I’ve shown that that number is quite likely far over estimated in my article about yellow pages statistics last year.

The YP industry’s statistics were based on surveying a sample group which left out a large and growing demographic, mobile-phone-only households. The mobile-only household demographic are also quite likely to be younger consumers who are also earlier adopters of technology — the people far less likely to use yellow pages printed books at all.

From the sample group, the industry multiplies up based on overall population to come up with the 14 billion references number — since this is basically an estimate based on a relatively small sample group, the estimated error rate is already high. Coupled with missing a very large consumer demographic, we can be pretty certain that the number of references cited is significantly overestimated: yellow pages last year were used less than the year before and considerably less than previous years.

According to its own website:

1. Yellow Pages Association® (YPA®) is the largest trade organization of a print and digital media industry valued at more than $31 billion worldwide.

and:

2. The mission of YPA is to LEAD, SERVE, GROW and ADVOCATE for the Yellow Pages Industry.

I’ll let the readers connect the dots.

I can, however, congratulate you for being so on the ball PR-wise, and commenting on blogs so quickly to defend your industry. And, of course, I don’t blame you for doing your job well.