say it is not fair to say that our company is in favor to the ordinance. even though we have been doing door-to-door distribution, we have been doing that not because we are in favor but because we have no choice because we have no way of knowing the person behind the door reads chinese. in past years, we have been building and send it to small businesses or chinese markets, and most of the time, when it comes to publication, a lot of chinese residents have to actually call our office to ask to find out how to get a book. if they are willing to pay the mailing, we would need the mailing address. however, they are most of the time not able to give us their full address, and if we ask them to go online, most of the time,

they cannot spell san francisco correctly. their children, the second generation chinese-americans, may be busy doing google, but most likely, they did not help their parents or have no interest to help their parents to locate businesses on a daily basis. so in the unique chinese minority market, to have a phone book in each household is very important. if we can have the door to door ability to distribute the books, this would 100% make our advertisers and all the small business very convenient, and also, it will help them to increase their business, especially nowadays in this kind of economy. we simply should not do anything to hurt their business. so thank you, and i vote no to the ordinance. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker.

and if i could ask the following individuals to please line up. [reading names] >> good afternoon, supervisors. in the green business manager with urban solutions. we help small and medium-sized businesses go green by saving money and improving operational efficiency. on behalf of myself and many clients i work with who cannot be your today, i like to say that we are in full support of what this order and its aims to do, which is reduce unnecessary waste in san francisco while helping businesses reached their target audience more effectively. i think many people have already spoken to the point about the environmental benefits this or did as well already have to san francisco, but i would also like to provide a small business perspective from the businesses

i work with. many of the people i work with are working hard to minimize their environment footprint and be more financially and environmentally sustainable. the fact that the current practice allows other businesses to drop off unwanted products without their prior consent is in position by this current industry and is totally unacceptable. while they have the right to provide information to those who want a, they should not be given the right to drop off trash in other people's private property. i would like to thank san francisco for all the work they have done as leaders of a green city, from banning plastic bags to green building bench mark ordinances and zero ways. this is yet another opportunity for san francisco to take the lead. in closing, the industry may

suggest an opt-out policy, but we already know that does not work from seattle. yellow pages cost the city $1 million in disposal fees right now. if your bank wanted to date $1 million out of your account, would you allow that to allowan opt-out option? i do not think superior do not let the industry do this to us again. we thank you in advance for your support. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon. i represent russian hill neighbors, and we are a very large neighborhood organization in the city, and at our last board meeting, -- actually, our past two board meetings, we had a unanimous vote, which most of you know is unheard of when you have 28 people trying to come to one thing.

to support this legislation. our buzzwords were waist and green -- waste and green. \ we felt like what has been mentioned throughout the day about the sidewalks being cluttered and one of the topics in our meeting -- i'm an artist, so i had a vision. we talked about if each -- also, a division of san francisco really being known as the green city, if those phone books were removed, to plant a green plant there, at hot, 6 inches or 8 inches, what a difference it would make. in the spirit of green and with a little help -- inspiration from st. patrick, i wore what i think on my fingernails, as you all see.

so i urge you to support this legislation for all the neighbors of the city who have been rolling down the streets and wreaking havoc and having kids use them instead of kickballs -- we have what phone books -- we have wet phone books. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i'm a small business owner, created concrete design. when i first came year to date, who i was not completely aware of the position that the council had, and i am really glad to have been called almost last in this line of speakers, so thank you. as a small-business owner, i know that yellow pages is key in our life. we are a service industry. concrete is not something people typically need to have on a continual basis, so it is something that is like every

five years. phone books are where people go to because they want to hire somebody who is local. they want to be able to get references and that type of thing. it is clear that there are some things that need to happen, i think, and as far as the distribution, and one of the people pointed out that the 1.6 million phone books -- downtown, there are a lot of office buildings with a lot of phones. seeing that there are so many phone books per person -- resident, i do not think that is a fair statistic to throw out there. i think that is kind of clout in. my experience with yellow pages is that it works. it is a viable industry. one of the gentleman mentioned about the emergency information that is in the phone book and what happens if something happens, a natural disaster? we are slated for one, and we will not have internet service or electricity. we will have to use something like a phone book. but i also see the other side of

having too many phone books and what do we do about that? maybe we look at asking the industry to police themselves and two weeks later or a week later go back and make sure that the telephone books got picked up by people and do something, but i really believe there's more opportunity for discussion rather than just blanket we say that is an option. thanks. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> my name is nancy roberts. in a marketing professional and resident and business owner. i focus on sustainable communications strategies in the sense of both environmentally and financially sustainable. the concept of opt-in marketing its preferred policy for e-mail, and a feel there's no reason why it should not be the policy for direct mail and for the yellow pages also. i believe that approving this measure will actually improve

the performance of the yellow pages and the perception by the public while cutting down on waste. marketing is all about testing. 15 years ago, i ran a catalog company. we drop half a million 40-page catalogs nationwide twice a year. i have seen the light. i know there are better ways to market that a beneficial for business owners and customers alike, and i urge you to approve this measure. supervisor chiu: next speaker. >> i am with the sierra club, and also a san francisco resident, and i just wanted to make a few points today. both "usa today" and whitepages .com have shown over 80% of consumers would support an opt- in program if it would help the environment.

yellow pages has not self regulated in the past, action must be taken globally. i am personally aware of how little my generation makes use of the yellow pages. i cannot remember the last time someone might each use the yellow pages instead of the internet for pretty much anything. it is definitely disheartening to see piles of phone books littering the front of apartment buildings in san francisco in my neighborhood. as far as white pages are concerned, i would encourage people to consider that the smaller phone books would likely be manageable in the current conveyer system and would streamline recycling while reducing overall waste. i would also guess that they could include any necessary emergency information in those white pages that, as he stated, is required by law to receive. we see this legislation has a simple, effective solution to a very unnecessary problem.

our local businesses are free to adapt and drive in an evolving market. thank you. -- adapt and thrive in an evolving market. >> thank you for the opportunity to testify today on an important local action for advancing sustainability. i am the california director of local governments for sustainability, a membership association of local governments nationwide, which include 130 cities and counties in california and over 600 in the united states. we are honored to have san francisco as a leading member, continuing to provide national, global leadership. i want to focus on one particular point. i will submit comments for the record. does local government action matter in addressing the challenge of climate change? i can tell you definitively it does. it matters when it helps create, contribute to, and scale local

action elsewhere. that is when it is part of something larger. in cities lead, their actions can have impact will be on their local jurisdictions through inspiration, offering blueprints for action, and even friendly competition with leaders elsewhere, spurring a race to the top, if you will. in particular, california offers this, like no other state in the union. if local action for waste reduction and sustainability is important, in california, it truly has the impact to be transformed it. this is because the regulatory framework in california to reduce emissions has outlined what local and regional governments will be doing for many years into the future. the relevant state agencies are shifting their attention to look at new programs and policies and how they will fit in. in particular, these transformative regulatory drivers will continue to result

in widespread adoption of innovative local government ordinances that address climate change, increasing the likelihood that local action in san francisco will be amplified and scale statewide. today, over 50 california cities -- counties have developed -- san francisco has an opportunity to scale its leadership from our perspective -- i will submit the rest of my comments for the record. supervisor chiu: could i just ask you -- could you repeat your organization again? >> local governments for sustainability. sand and cisco is a number here over 130 cities and states across the county are members. including all the largest cities and counties across the country. thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> i am the founder and executive director of catalog choice, the nation's largest independent privacy choice portal. we serve 1.3 million households,

connecting them to 4100 companies. we have processed 18 million requests since our inception. we are a registered non-profit corp., working on behalf of the public interest to make choice work. we launched our service in 2007 because of shortcomings of the direct marketing industries service. we added phone books to our service in 2010 because of similar shortcomings of the yellow pages industry service. we have reached out on numerous occasions to the yellow pages industry association and their members to get them to participate and work with us to honor choice. only one company who is a yellow page distributor has voluntarily signed up to work with us. so i'm here to support the yellow page distribution pilot ordinance. there are three essential elements about an effective program -- it has to be easy,

effective, enforceable. let me reinforce the notion of enforceability. if it is impossible, it will become effective and will make it easy. seattle adopted an ordinance that requires adoption of consumer choice and failure to do so results in a penalty. the fact that you are enabling regulatory regimes to enforce choice is critical. recently, the yellow page association did put out a new service. but it published on every page the following comment -- "alert, director republishes listed on the site generally do not accept opt-out requests. protect your personal information by using this web site." the statement itself has caused mass of confusion in the marketplace. so i urge you to move forward. supervisor chiu: thank you very much. let me call up the remaining

speakers. if you could please line up in the center aisle. >> hello. i am the owner of automatic garage door of san francisco. we have been in business for 47 years and have been with at&t yellow pages for about 35. i'm not sure who this will affect most -- small business, the consumers, or, most importantly, senior citizen and low-income people. i would like to use my industry as an example. there is a condominium with 10 cars in the garage. everyone is stuck inside. if that consumers under 50 years

old, they will probably go to the phone book, the computer, or their iphone, but if that consumer is a senior citizen, they are going to go to the phone books. i'm just not sure if the senior citizens will know about the opt-in. i'm not confident about that. the problem is they will not have any resources. after today, i fully appreciate the of the gulf -- ecological impact of these books, but there must be a better solution. thank you for your time.

>> i'm here to represent small businesses in san francisco. my husband has an appliance business in san francisco for over 45 years. since the beginning, of his business, use the yellow pages to get his business known to the public. we got a lot of customers over the years. i understand nowadays that there are different means of advertising, and we did try. believe me, those new means do not serve equally all the businesses. it depends how much money you have to spend to get those

different online businesses. they work and they put you there. it depends how much money you give them to get you on the top of the list, on the front page of the internet's, and i want to mention that they are not all professional. they are not quality control. i spoke with different businesses that they put online advertisements, and they promoted very unethical ways to promote my business. not everybody, especially people my age, has the ability to go and search --

[bell rings] supervisor chiu: thank you very much. next speaker. >> thank you, supervisors. i am a small business owner, specializing in the senior market. i do not think we can say that we would ever have a perfect world where we would have -- never have the internet not go down, or even to have -- never have a natural disaster and earthquake and tsunami. considering that, there are always reasons why having a local resourced is very important to seniors, and this is a part of that. i do not necessarily believe that we are here today to talk about the necessity of the book or waste.

i think everybody here, no matter what side they are on -- no one wants excess waste. i think where we need to focus is whether there should be opt- in or opt-out. i am against opt-in. when the federal government passed the medicare part b legislation, which was basically an entitlement program, it was very confusing. millions of americans did not opt in. they did not understand the provisions of how to do it. i think that really, the best situation in addressing an overall solution would be to have an opt-out system. if people do not want the books, apartment managers do not want

the books, i know it is printed on the front of the books on the ballot -- valley yellow pages. there are ways they can call and simply not have it. but people need to get used to the fact that there is a different system, and they need to opt out and not have to opt in to get their books. thank you. supervisor chiu: next speaker. >> good afternoon. i have been in business since 2002. the yellow pages has built my business. i would not be here without them. i have tried all sorts of advertising -- flyers, mailers, internet. nothing brings me the success of the yellow pages. the internet i have to pay so much money, which i have, and i am still advertising with the internet. the results are just not there. i have spent so much money on the internet, and it just does

not work for me. i am actually based in san mateo. a year ago, i started doing business in san francisco. if this ordinance passes, i worry i will not be able to grow my business in san francisco the way i wanted, which means i probably would not be able to hire any local electricians, visit the local wholesale houses, visit -- get gas for my vans locally, visit restaurants locally as they do business here. if i have to opt out of san francisco, i just do not think that is great, and this is a great city. so please vote no on this ordinance. supervisor chiu: next speaker. >> good afternoon. my name is terry fowler. i am in the bail bond insurance business.

i have been in the business for 30 years, and we do use the yellow pages. a lot of people are in difficult positions. we tracked every call we get through the door, and i would say at least 50% or more are connected to the yellow pages, either directly or they will see our tv and radio advertisements, and that will direct them. they will go to the yellow pages to get more information. what is interesting to me about this whole process here is how few times small business is mentioned. we have been left out of this whole discussion and all the research. in fact, there has been no research done by any about the -- by anybody about the impact on small business. has just been a guest. one government agency here that mention anything about small business other than the small business commission said there

would be minimum impact. how do they know? there was a poll done -- they talk about the harris poll -- who did they talk to? individuals. i do not know how many small business owners their work, but i doubt there were any, and if there were, they certainly were not acknowledged. i think at a time when we have the economic struggles we have an unemployment, and as you know, small businesses are decreasing. i think this type of proposal is very dangerous. i have to remind you that the backbone of this country is small business and san francisco. if we do not make it, people lose jobs. government people lose jobs. salaries are not paid. i think there needs to be more input from small businesses, and i would urge you not to go in this direction. thank you.

supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> i am a director of sustainability, parks, recycling, and wild life legal defense fund. we are actively engaged in putting an end to cut rate mega dumping, and we are potentially litigated against the recommendation for san francisco's wastes to go to fuel a county. i think the measure before you is what you should be reporting out of this committee to the full board. it is reasonable regulation of business enterprise. it is not an infringement of free speech. the level of regulation of private business in the united states is far less than those of the industrial democracies of the so-called first world. i would like to make two anecdotal observations.

the first is that the landfill you now use which receives about 400,000 tons per year of waste from recology does charge you and your ratepayers 32 cents a ton for recycling education. that accumulates to about $500,000 a year. the department for the environment could apply for a grant of up to $50,000 to facilitate moving an easing out some of the trouble spots. secondly, i am -- well, not a resident of san francisco, but i use your restaurants and especially your cinema, and i have had the experience of looking for a yellow page in a busy commercial district to find a copy center and not being able to find it. they do not use it. i think the testimony, the proponents support the contention that it may be used by niche markets, but what about a new kind of niche market for really an old one?

i come from a small city of 50,000 in indiana. we used to have city directories. what about neighborhood directories that are built around voter registration lists and supplemental efforts and would build community in this city in a way the yellow pages and witter do not -- and litter do not? supervisor chiu: let me call up what i think is the final speaker, and if anyone else wishes to speak, please line up in the aisle. [reading names] >> thank you, supervisors. in the executive director of the haight-ashbury recycling center.

we have been recycling phone books since 1944. i have noticed that when we do recycle old books, many of them come to us in their original wrappers, so i can attest to the fact that a lot of the phone books handed out in the city are not used. the city does a fantastic job of recycling, but that is just one of the three r's. there is also reviews and source reduction -- reuse and source reduction. this legislation would go a long way towards eliminating or reducing unnecessary phone book waste or phone book recycling, for that matter, and it does follow along the same lines as the plastic bag legislation and styrofoam legislation, what have you, so that is a big reason why i speak in favor of it. there has been some comments about how phone books are distributed to all