Bear with me ...

Place a computer scanner's 'Actually scans the image' hardware strip along the top of your letterbox, and another one underside. As stuff is shoved through your door it gets scanned real time into a computer.

The image goes to an OCR program .. this is something that reads images and transfers it to text readable by computer (been around for years).

The computer analysis the text on the outside of the letter .. If, out of all the text on the letter, none has your name anywhere on it (or, defineable, anyone in your families name) -- the computer auto opens up a little box labelled 'junk mail' under the letterbox, and the post falls in (then shuts before next letter comes through).

If the sender doesn't even know your name, It's gonna be a flyer for the local pizza/curry place or some other kind of junk mail. Do as you please with the auto-sorted 'junk mail' box.

Half baked because --- if postie stacks the letters and posts 3 at the same time, only the top one gets scanned :( However if posted upside down it will work as I also put a scanner on the bottom side of the letterbox.
-- britboy, Jun 20 2008

Wierdly enough I know the answer to this.

They send it back to the sender (if known) after scribbling the words 'Refused delivery' on it.

If sender unknown, they destroy it. Even if it's a brand new playstation 3 it gets put in the incinerator (!!) to give no incentive for postie to lie about 'refused delivery' and keep it!
-- britboy, Jun 20 2008


//Can we stand on the doorstep and tell the postie not to give it to us? If so, what would they do with it?//

If the junk mail includes a prepaid envelope for return, take about 1/2 pound of newspapers, cut to appropriate size, and place them in the return envelope and tape securely. They are paying a lot of postage. If everyone did this, they'd go out of business or stop mailing.
-- Klaatu, Jun 20 2008


Only catch is that it's too easy to buy databases with millions of names and addresses.
-- Bad Jim, Jun 20 2008



random, halfbakery