united-states mail
Is it illegal to throw away the previous tenant&#39;s standard mail?
<p>Is it illegal to recycle <strong><em>standard mail</em></strong> addressed to, presumably, a previous tenant of an apartment?</p>

<p><strong>Context</strong>: I have received the mail for someone who I assume is a previous tenant of the apartment I live in. I have tried writing <em>Not at this address</em> and <em>Return to sender</em> on them and the mail carrier continues re-delivering most of them to my mailbox. Most of the mail is AARP stuff, so I assume it's standard "junk" mail (though they are addressed specifically to the person and do not include "or current resident").</p>

<p>On <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/3636/is-it-illegal-to-throw-away-the-previous-tenants-mail">this question</a> there were two US-based answers:</p>

<ol>
<li>It's a crime to throw away mail</li>
<li>It's only a crime if it's first-class mail. It's ok to recycle if it's standard (bulk/junk) mail.</li>
</ol>

<p>A question <a href="https://www.quora.com/Can-I-get-in-trouble-for-throwing-away-somebody-elses-mail" rel="noreferrer">on Quora</a> similarly distinguishes between first-class and standard mail. The problem is, the person who answered that it's a crime to recycle a previous tenant's mail provided a source (Cornell) and that source starts with</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Whoever takes <strong>any</strong> letter</p>
</blockquote>

<p>It does not distinguish between first-class and standard mail. Whereas the answers on Stack Exchange and Quora that say it's ok to recycle standard mail do not provide sources.</p>

<p>Am I safe to assume the mail carrier returning the mail to me is a sign that it's ok for me to recycle them or do I need to keep dropping the ever-increasing stack of mail back into the mail system?</p>

<p>As indicated <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/a/3645/4501">here</a>, throwing away mail is the crime of obstructing mail. There is no exception for "junk mail" i.e. standard mail. It is possible (virtually guaranteed) that an individual postmaster or the USPS has a different disposition of the two kinds or mail when returned, but that is about USPS and not you. It is highly unlikely that you will find an official statement to the effect that it is "okay" to violate the law in the case of disposition of returned standard mail, even if in fact there is virtually no chance of being prosecuted for recycling.</p>

<p>I assume that the junk mail is <em>not</em> addressed to "or current resident", or simply "Resident", because then the letter is addressed to you and you can do what you want.</p>

<p>Junk mail usually identifies the addressee as "John Z. Xmith or current resident." If it says "...or current resident", then by policy it is not to be sent to John Z. Xmith's new address. The current resident is considered the addressee.</p>
