What a waste — Let’s do away with UAA

Undeliverable-as-addressed mail — better known as UAA mail — is mail that cannot be delivered as addressed and must be:

• Forwarded to the addressee.
• Returned to the sender.
• In some cases, destroyed.

Last year there were almost 10 billion pieces of UAA mail — that’s 5 percent of all mail! UAA mail is a waste of money, paper, energy and time. Fixing the problem is a major opportunity to improve service, reduce costs and increase the value of mail.

A good address has two characteristics — it accurately describes the delivery point and correctly identifies the addressee. Many tools exist to help mailers identify incor­rect or incomplete addresses before mailing. Using the tools saves postage and preparation costs for mailers while reducing processing and delivery costs for the Postal Service.

Look for more information in coming weeks about what we’re doing to prevent UAA mail and what you can do to help.