The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is encouraging Hoosiers to make easy environmentally-responsible changes in their habits, beginning with junk mail.

According to a statement released by IDEM, reducing the amount of junk mail is one of the recommendations of the Hoosiers Care initiative, a collaboration of five state agencies: IDEM, the Office of Energy and Defense, the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.

There are several programs allowing households to opt out of national junk mail and credit card campaigns. Visit www.dmachoice.org

 or www.optoutprescreem.com

 for more information.

Another way to cut back on the amount of paper contributed to landfills is to sign up for paperless billing, the statement change. This change will allow your bills to be delivered through cyberspace and into your e-mail inbox instead of your home’s mail box.

“Our wallets and our environment can be improved by making a simple change in how much paper we receive in the mail,” IDEM Commissioner Tom Easterly said. “Multiply individual actions by 6 million Hoosiers and the amount of paper saved will really add up.”

To learn more about environmentally friendly and energy conservation tips or to take the Hoosier Care pledge, visit www.HoosiersCare.IN.gov

 and www.energystar.gov

Posted 4/6/2009