14-year-old teen from Marin on a mission to reduce paper waste by helping people unsubscribe to catalogs, mailers, ads

ByCornell Barnard KGO logo
Saturday, July 20, 2019
North Bay teen on mission to reduce paper waste by stopping unwanted mail
North Bay teen, Jacqui Domet, is on a mission to reduce paper waste by helping residents unsubscribe from unwanted mail.

MARIN, Calif. (KGO) -- When 14-year-old Jacqui Domet went to the Ross post office with her mom every week she noticed something - bins and bins of unwanted catalogs. And now she's helping to Build a Better Bay Area.

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"It's such a waste of energy, resources and paper," she said.

So, Domet did something about it for an eighth grade class project last spring.

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She wanted to help her friends and neighbors reduce the amount of paper in those recycling bins by making it stop.

Since February, Domet has been manually unsubscribing to junk mail and catalogs for people who request her assistance.

The teen posted a large envelope on the bulletin board in the post office, which reads, "Got junk mail?" There, people can drop off back covers of catalogs. Domet uses the info to contact retailers about removing the customer from their mailing list.

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Domet's parents have even set up a dedicated email address for people to send those "unsubscribe" requests.

Many have taken notice.

So far, she's helped more than 70 people unsubscribe to 300 catalogs.

"It feels great knowing I'm making a difference here," said Domet.

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Her good work has even been recognized by legislators in Sacramento. She recently received a commendation letter from Senator Mike Maguire.

Domet will start high school in the fall, where she plans to continue her efforts to help others unsubscribe. She hopes the move will catch on across the Bay Area with other young people like her.