The "Stop the Drop" campaign aims to reduce the amount of unwanted mail, or junk mail as it is often referred, delivered to Scottish householders by 10% by 2010.
Many people don't have a problem with direct mail. However, some direct mail is poorly targeted and irrelevant and ends up being thrown straight in the bin.
There are five easy steps to reducing the amount of unwanted mail you receive and help the environment while you're at it.
1. Write to the sender requesting to be taken off their mailing list. For further information and template letters to help you visit Stop the Drop|.
2. Registering with the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) can reduce the amount of personally addressed direct mailings that you receive by up to 95%. For further information visit the MPS|.
3. Opt out of the Royal Mail's Door to Door Service. You can register with the Royal Mail for no cost to stop all unaddressed items from being delivered by the Royal Mail. For further information visit the Royal Mail|.
In addition you can also register with the 'Your Choice' preference scheme. This allows you to ask distribution companies that are members of the Direct Marketing Association to stop delivering unaddressed mail to your house. For further information on Your Choice visit the DMA|.
4. Opt out of the edited version of the electoral register. There are two versions of the electoral register, the Full Register and the Edited Register. The Full Register has the names and address of everyone registered to vote.
The Edited Register can be bought by any person, company or organization and can be used for different purposes including marketing. For further information visit the Electoral Commission|.
5. Use online services. Many companies including utility companies and banks offer online services. As well as reducing the amount of mail you receive many companies will also offer you a discount of using their services online. For more information please contact your service providers