The Local Search Association---née the Yellow Pages Association---is on a charm offensive in the wake of a new Seattle law creating a directory that allows residents to opt out of automatically receiving phone books at their homes. Although the group sued to stop the city from implementing the law, arguing that the new rules violated their right to free speech, that lawsuit has gone nowhere since it was filed last year , and city officials are moving forward with efforts to create its opt-out database.

In a report released today, the Yellow Pages group claims they've reduced the amount of paper used in their phone books by 35 percent since 2007, including an 8.5 percent drop last year. The group also says it has increased the recovery (recycling) rate for phone books to nearly 37 percent, a jump from 21.4 percent in 2009.

The group attributes its lower paper use to lower demand for Yellow Pages (residents can opt out through a privately operated system, although some have reported receiving phone books even after "opting out"), and to smaller phone books.

The report also notes that phone books make up just 1 percent of all paper waste, and 0.3 percent of the total waste stream.

It's unlikely that any of those stats will influence the council, which voted unanimously to create the opt-out system earlier this year, to dismantle the system short of a court order that they do so.