Implementation of the Postal Accountability Enhancement Act of 2006 : hearing before the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, second session, February 28, 2008.

Worldwide, postal operators have been slow to address the threats from and opportunities created by electronic competition. The European Commission and member states are wrestling with these issues, while at the same time continuing to deal with the interrelated issues of implementing entry into postal markets and maintaining the universal service obligation. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 in the U.S. exacerbated financial and managerial problems faced by USPS that result in part from electronic substitution for letter delivery. A major aim of this book is to examine policies to address postal operations in a digital world and ways in which postal operators might reinvent themselves to respond to threats and exploit opportunities. Potential opportunities examined include parcels, e-commerce, digital delivery, regulatory innovations and pricing. This book will be of interest to postal operators, regulatory commissions, consulting firms, competitors and customers, experts in the postal economics, law, and business, and those charged with the responsibility for designing and implementing postal sector policies. Researchers in regulatory economics, transportation technology and industrial organization will also find considerable food for thought in this volume.

In 2006, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) discarded about 317,000 tons of undeliverable-as-addressed advertising mail. Such mail can be disposed of using incineration, landfills or through other methods. USPS recently committed to minimizing the agency¿s impact on every aspect of the environment. Recycling undeliverable advertising mail can help USPS achieve this commitment, while generating revenue and reducing its costs and financial pressures. This report addresses: (1) recent mail-related recycling accomplishments undertaken by USPS, the mailing industry, and others; and (2) additional recycling opportunities that USPS could choose to engage in, or influence mailers to undertake. Includes recommendations. Illustrations.