Verizon to End Automatic Delivery of Printed Residential White Pages Directories in Virginia

Verizon will end the automatic delivery of printed residential white pages listings effective with the release of the 2011-2012 Danville Verizon Superpages in late July, but customers will be able to obtain a free residential white pages directory upon request.

Customers will be able to order free residential print and CD-ROM versions of white pages directories by calling 1-800-888-8448 as each local yellow pages directory begins delivery.  In addition, all white pages listings are accessible at www.verizon.com/whitepages.

The discontinuation of the automatic delivery of residential white pages listings in Virginia will keep approximately 1,640 tons of paper out of the commonwealth's waste stream annually.

Yellow pages directories - containing business and government white pages, customer information pages and yellow pages ads - will continue to be delivered, and information about how to continue to receive residential white pages listings and access them online will be displayed on the covers and table of contents of those directories.  In addition, Verizon will notify customers of their options in quarterly bill inserts.

To improve efficiency and reduce the environmental impacts associated with printed directories, Verizon in August 2010 asked the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to waive the existing requirement to deliver residential white pages.  The company noted that significant resources are expended annually to print and automatically distribute residential directories to customers who may not want or use them.  The SCC granted an interim waiver on May 5.

Residential white pages usage has decreased considerably due to the Internet and mobile search.  Independent research firm Gallup estimates the usage for residential white page directories had dropped to about 11 percent in 2008. 

Verizon expects to end the automatic production and delivery of printed residential white pages directories throughout its service area, which encompasses 12 states and Washington, D.C., by the end of the third quarter of 2011.  Doing so will keep approximately 17,000 tons of paper annually out of the country's waste stream.

Reducing the use of paper is a significant part of Verizon's comprehensive sustainability efforts.  In 2010, more than 325,000 additional Verizon customers across the country signed up for paperless billing, joining the 2.4 million customers already receiving their bills online.  Last year alone, our online billing customers saved more than 68,000 trees by going paperless.  Verizon's commitment also involves a strong waste-management program, resulting in the recycling of 50.8 million pounds of paper and cardboard in 2010.

SuperMedia LLC is the publisher of the Verizon directories.  SuperMedia uses biodegradable inks and dyes, as well as paper that is made primarily from lumber industry waste such as wood pulp and fiber, and that includes up to 40 percent post-consumer recycled content.  In addition, SuperMedia purchases directory paper from producers recognized for their sustainability practices ranging from water recycling at mills to careful reclamation of forest lands.  For more information, visit www.supermedia.com/social-responsibility/environmental-sustainability.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with more than 104 million total connections nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 196,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of $106.6 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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