Phonebook Delivery Opt Out Available in Santa Cruz County

In case your phone book usually sits around collecting dust, Santa Cruz County officials are reminding residents that they can cancel directory deliveries.

More than 300,000 phone books are delivered in Santa Cruz County each year, officials said, in three deliveries throughout the year.

The AT&T Yellow Pages is delivered in May, the Yellowbook is delivered in July, and the Valley Yellow Pages is delivered in September.

But because many residents do not want a phone book delivered, each company maintains a "Do Not Deliver" list.

Residents can either request to stop delivery online at www.yellowpagesoptout.com or by phone. The number to stop delivery of Yellowbook is (800) 929-3556, for Valley Yellow Pages it's (800) 350-8887 and for AT&T Yellow Pages it's (866) 329-7118.

Also, the publishers will sweep through rural areas a few days after delivery to pick up unclaimed books to prevent them from becoming roadside litter.

Residents can also recycle their phone books in curbside recycling bins or at some drop-off centers. If the books are wrapped in plastic the plastic must be removed before placing it in recycling bins.

The plastic bags can be recycled separately by placing them in a bag with other plastic bags and placing it in the curbside-recycling bin.

--Reporting by Bay City News