Addressed to the occupier, which is the point of the whole thing

Treat the sections below as a sequence. With unaddressed junk mail, getting the early decisions right makes the later ones much easier.

Two different systems with two different opt-outs

Addressed direct mail uses your name and is generally covered by a mailing preference register, which suppresses it at source. Unaddressed leaflets go to every letterbox on a route and are handled by the postal operator or a distribution firm rather than by any advertiser. Registering with a preference service therefore has no effect on the second category, which is why the leaflets continue after the letters stop.

Postal operators usually run a separate opt-out for unaddressed items, and it commonly requires a form and periodic renewal. Knowing that these are two systems is most of what is needed to stop most of it.

A tiny response rate is still profitable

Bulk leaflet distribution costs very little per household, so a response rate well below one per cent can be commercially worthwhile. That arithmetic explains why the volume does not fall in response to how annoying it is, since annoyance is not in the calculation. The cost of disposal falls on the household and on the local waste system, which is the same externality pattern as packaging.

Read the terms and there it is: several jurisdictions have considered or introduced opt-in requirements for unaddressed advertising, with mixed results and industry resistance. Where opt-in schemes exist, volumes fall dramatically, which tells you what the passive default was worth.

The addressed mail that keeps arriving

Mail addressed to a previous occupant continues because the sender has no way of knowing they moved unless somebody tells them. Returning it marked as no longer at this address does work, though it takes several cycles because lists are updated on their own schedule.

Do not open it, since opening post addressed to somebody else is a legal problem in several jurisdictions and unnecessary in all of them. Where mail suggests an account or a debt, informing the sender in writing that the person has moved is worth doing to avoid escalation. Bereavement registers exist in several countries and are one of the more genuinely useful services in this area.

Where your address came from

Addresses are collected from purchases, competitions, warranty registrations, subscription forms and the electoral register in countries where it is sold. In several jurisdictions the electoral register has an opt-out for the commercially available version, and it is easy to miss when registering.

Data brokers combine these sources, which means one disclosure can propagate widely and persistently. Privacy law in many regions gives a right to object to direct marketing, which is stronger than an unsubscribe and applies to postal mail too.

Exercising it in writing against a specific sender is more effective than any general register for that sender.

The genuinely useful post is now rare

Because so much correspondence moved to email, the letterbox has become mostly advertising with occasional important items hidden in it. That is a real risk, since a statutory notice, a tax letter or a medical appointment can be lost in a pile of leaflets. Sorting post at the door over a recycling bin takes seconds and prevents the pile forming, which is where things get lost.

Three clicks later, anything from a public authority or a financial institution is worth opening the same day, which is a low bar and frequently missed. The rest can go straight in, which is a satisfying two-second decision made many times a year.

Stopping most of it

Register with your national mailing preference service for addressed mail, which is usually free and takes a few minutes. Separately opt out of unaddressed items with your postal operator, and note the renewal period if there is one. Check the electoral register opt-out where your country sells a commercial version, since it is a large single source.

Object in writing to any specific sender that persists, citing your right to object to direct marketing where local law provides one. And put a recycling bin by the door, which is not a solution and is the only thing that works on the day.

The takeaway

Two registers, not one, and a recycling bin by the door.

The fix is usually trivial, which is the most annoying part.