Newspapers nationwide now are helping USPS® reclaim its property. On the heels of the Postal Service’s announcement of an amnesty period promoting the return of mail transport equipment (MTE), the National Newspaper Association (NNA) asked its member publications to return any pallets, white mail tubs, and other USPS items found in newsrooms and offices. Referring to the white mail tubs, NNA Postal Committee Chairman Max Heath said, “I’ve made it sort of a personal cause over the years to bring these back. I have found them being used as footrests, under desks to hold files, or in storage rooms for office supplies.”
Besides returning MTE to the Postal Service™, NNA newspapers publicized the amnesty program until it expired. The end of the amnesty period doesn’t mean the effort to recover missing MTE is over. USPS is encouraging employees to report MTE that is not in the postal network. Employees play an important role in the effort to keep sufficient quantities of MTE in circulation so that adequate supplies are available to transport mail. When this equipment is not circulating, USPS must purchase additional quantities to meet customer demand.
To report misuse of MTE, call 866-330-3404 or send an e-mail to HQMTE@usps.gov.
The cost of replacing MTE inventories amounts to nearly $50 million each year. The greatest expense is for pallets. Although the lightweight, durable plastic pallet is preferred, the Postal Service supplements the purchase of these pallets with more cost-effective pressed-wood and wood slat options.
Sufficient MTE inventories are an important element in the mail processing cycle. USPS purchased wood slat pallets and pressed wood pallets — 500,000 of each type — to help meet demand for the fall mailing season. Employees and customers must use the wood pallets and not refuse or return loads. Any excess MTE must be returned to the Mail Transport Equipment Service Center (MTESC).
USPS MTE policy preserves and better distributes existing equipment. The policy also ensures facilities have only the amount of MTE necessary for current operations and helps make sure USPS meets customer demand at plants and retail facilities.
Damaged pallets — plastic, pressed wood, or wood slat — must be returned to the servicing MTESC. Only the MTESC is authorized to destroy or recycle pallets so that they are appropriately tracked and replacements can be purchased. USPS is no longer allowing local recycling programs. When MTE is recycled locally in error, no replacement piece is purchased and USPS could become short on MTE supplies.
— Mail Transport Equipment,
Network Operations, 12-15-11
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