The Yellow Book: The Original Eco Sin

It was the site of a unwanted stack of Yellow Pages back in 2005 that was a defining moment for me and my work at PSFK. They stood on our doorstep of my apartment – with few taken. Technology like Google and Yelp has made the book unnecessary – especially at this volume.

Nevertheless, the company behind the Yellow Pages/Yellow Book still produces millions of copies each year (probably to justify ‘reach’ to their advertisers) – and residents and cities are left to deal with the recycling unassisted. The effort to produce, deliver, remove and recycle these books is considerable.

Over the last few days I’ve photographed the collection of books in the lobby of my New York apartment building. No one wants a copy.

On the cover there is a lie that says that the books are now eco-size. They’ve always seem to have been this size in the last few years. It’s an appalling waste that needs to be stopped.