Just a few days ago we recieved a big yellow phone book. That book went straight from the mailbox to the recycle bin. I can't remember the last time I used a phone book. With the internet, it's faster and more up to date to just look it up online. There are many informational resources to find phone numbers and addresses.
Today in my inbox, I found an email from a few days ago regarding YellowPagesGoesGreen.org. You can sign up and have yourself removed from receiving phone books! Excellent!
There is no hard data, but it's estimated that only 10% of these books are recycled. Most end up in landfills, or in some cases, just laying around house gathering dust. Why print the books if they aren't going to be used or even recycled?!
If you need a phone number, here's a list of sites you can use:
and many more!
I always keep one on hand in case of emergency and recycle the old ones.