THE end of receiving junk mail through the letterbox is in sight.

A new website is being launched by the Government to make it easier for householders to stop advertising mail landing on the mat.

The site allows people to opt out of receiving all types of junk mail and replaces the current system where households have to register on three different online sites or apply by post to stop direct mail.

Currently, the average household receives almost 400 items of junk mail a year.

Trading standards officers once worked out that if all the junk mail received by local people in a year was placed in a line it would stretch round the boundary of Bournemouth and Poole.

In the deal, drawn up with the Direct Marketing Association, the junk mail people do get will be made from recyclable paper from a sustainable source, or from recycled paper.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said: “We've all returned home from holidays to be greeted by a mountain of unwanted, unsolicited mail waiting behind the front door, most of which is thrown straight out.

“These piles of paper irritate householders, waste businesses’ money and are environmentally unsustainable.

“That is why I struck this deal with the Direct Marketing Association to give people more control over what gets posted through their letterbox but also to make sure the direct mail we do find useful is produced to higher standards and is fully recyclable.”

She added: “This also throws down the gauntlet to those companies hand-delivering brochures and fast-food menus to respect ‘no junk mail’ signs.”

Andy Sheriff, of Bournemouth trading standards, said: “Anything that diminishes the flow of junk mail clearly has to be a good thing but care should be given to any mail received after April 1 which should be vetted and checked for accuracy.”

He said the website would not stop unsolicited mail from abroad.

He added: “We don’t want local people to get complacent. Conmen realise that the older generation are not so proficient with emails and websites so in every letterbox is a scam which could result in people to losing money.” The new opt-out website will be launched in April 2012.