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Comment by exabrial | Hacker News Reader

I'm always in disbelief at the sheer volume of waste they deliver. I maybe get one meaningful or useful piece of paper a month, the rest is hundreds of pounds of paper, hauled by thousands of gallons of diesel fuel. How this organisation continues to exist in is current form is mind blowing. Nearly everything it hauls could be emailed.

And don't forget the cost to have trash trucks haul the thousands of pounds of waste away, also diesel powered.

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I disagree that the USPS shouldn't exist in its current form, but I am always dismayed at the quantity of mail I immediately chuck in the recycling bin (easily 95% or greater). I bet if USPS raised their bulk mail pricing, we'd have a lot less junk.

that in fact, is exactly what I'm talking about

They publish their revenue and expenses numbers [1]. The marketing mail junk revenues are around $150 per household, and equals to two pieces per day per household.

So it’s a lot of junk as you said, but it’s also a lot of money. I’d wager that less than 10% would pay that $150 annual fee for an “ads-free” model.

[1] https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2020/1113-...

It's the original "ad supported" business.

> It's the original "ad supported" business.

No, it's not. Ad-supported newspapers are older than postal mail being largely advertising subsidizing other mail. Older than the US Post Office (and the US, even in North America), too.

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