San Francisco may ban Yellow Pages deliveries

SAN FRANCISCO — "Let your fingers do the walking" could be replaced with "let your finger do the clicking" in San Francisco. It's poised to become the first U.S. city to restrict delivery of Yellow Pages business directories.

The Board of Supervisors cast a 10-1 first vote on Tuesday to ban unrequested home and business delivery of the hefty telephone directories. There will be a second reading and final vote next week.

The idea is to protect the environment, fight neighborhood blight and help the economy. And advocates say the Internet makes the directories unnecessary.

The Los Angeles Times reports nearly 1.6 million Yellow Pages directories are dropped on San Francisco doorsteps each year. The city says they generate 7 million pounds of paper waste and clog recycling equipment, leading to costly repairs.