Policy Order O-34

WHEREAS: On February 28

WHEREAS: The Seattle ordinance requires registry by phone book distributors, establishes a recovery fee per book plus fee per ton to cover the administration of an opt-out system and the cost of recycling the books, and creates an enforcement mechanism; and

WHEREAS: In February, 2013, Seattle paid more than $500,000 to settle its losing fight against the publishers of the yellow pages phone books, after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the city ordinance violated the companies' free speech rights; and

WHEREAS: According to their website, The Product Stewardship Institute has been working with Catalog Choice since 2011 on an opt-out pilot project in Brookline and Cambridge, Massachusetts to test outreach strategies and best practices related to a transparent, voluntary opt-out service for phone books and unwanted mail, supported by a Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection grant; now therefore be it:

ORDERED: That the City Manager report back to the City Council on results from the PSI pilot and coordinate with the legal department to report back to the City Council on whether aspects of the ordinance could be safely adopted with specific attention to disposal of unwanted phone books.