A LOOK AT THE USPS MAIL RECOVERY CENTER
Every year, millions of First-Class Mail letters and packages never make it to their intended destination because both the sender’s and recipient’s addresses are incorrect, illegible or missing.
Chances are this mail will end up at the Postal Service’s sole Mail Recovery Center (MRC) in Atlanta, GA, the Postal Service’s 77,000-square-foot “lost and found” facility.
MRCs once were referred to as the “Dead Letter Office,” but the term has become a misnomer. The nearly 100 MRC employees — also known as mail detectives — returned about 60 percent of the 19 million pounds of mail, or 6.3 million parcels and 75.1 million letters, received in fiscal year 2009.
What happens at the MRC?
MRC employees first cull and segregate mail with detectable value from mail with no obvious value. Once mail is identified as having value, the postal sleuths glean each mailpiece, looking for clues to reunite it with either the sender or intended recipient. If successful, the employee repackages and forwards the mailpiece. Checks are never forwarded — clerks forward a facsimile copy of the check with an explanation before shredding the original check. Letters with no obvious value are shredded and recycled.
MRC employees first cull and segregate mail with detectable value from mail with no obvious value. Once mail is identified as having value, the postal sleuths glean each mailpiece, looking for clues to reunite it with either the sender or intended recipient. If successful, the employee repackages and forwards the mailpiece. Checks are never forwarded — clerks forward a facsimile copy of the check with an explanation before shredding the original check. Letters with no obvious value are shredded and recycled.
What happens to mail that can’t be returned?
“We hold mail for a minimum of 90 days in hopes customers will contact the MRC with information to match a mailpiece with its owner,” said Raymond Stankevich, manager, Mail Recovery Program. “We also hold onto mail marked as Cash on Delivery, Insured or containing cash for a maximum of six months.”
“We hold mail for a minimum of 90 days in hopes customers will contact the MRC with information to match a mailpiece with its owner,” said Raymond Stankevich, manager, Mail Recovery Program. “We also hold onto mail marked as Cash on Delivery, Insured or containing cash for a maximum of six months.”
In fiscal year 2009, the MRC recycled 40 percent of undeliverable mail received. It also donated more than 50,000 pounds of undeliverable mail — merchandise samples, clothing, toys and household items — to 40 nonprofit organizations.
