Verizon wants to take the residential White Pages out of the phone book.

The company has asked state regulators for permission to eliminate residential listings

from the phone book that carries the Verizon name and is distributed to all of its customers.

Verizon, in a filing with the State Public Service Commission, said most households don't

use the residential listings, relying instead on the Internet and other new technology.

Dropping the residential listings would save an estimated 5,000 tons of paper per year.

"It's really a prudent step if you take into consideration the environmental benefits

involved, and if you listen to our customers, there's a decline in use," said John Bonomo, a

Verizon spokesman.

Verizon is the first phone company in New York to ask state regulators to drop the

residential listings, said Anne Dalton, a PSC spokeswoman.

Before the change can happen, Verizon would have to win approval from the PSC, which will

accept comments from the public before it makes a decision, Dalton said.

No timetable has been set, but a ruling is not likely before late this year, at the

earliest.

The change, even if it is approved, also is unlikely to affect how many phone directories

residents now receive.

The Verizon directory is published and distributed by a Texas company, SuperMedia LLC,

which once was part of Verizon. SuperMedia plans to continue to distribute directories that

include the business White Page listings, which generate revenue from companies that pay for

more prominent listings, and the Yellow Pages advertising section, along with government

listings.

The residential White pages, in contrast, do not generate any revenue, said Andrew Shane, a

SuperMedia spokesman.

In addition, the residential listing information still will be made available to other

phone book publishers, including The Talking Phone Book published by Hearst Communications,

Bonomo said.

Only about one in nine households still use the residential White Pages, Verizon said in

the filing, citing a 2008 Gallup survey that showed use had declined from 25 percent in 2005.

In addition, regulators in Oklahoma, Ohio and Florida have allowed AT&T to provide

residential listings only to customers that request them.

Verizon said it would also offer residential listings, on request, on CD-ROM and also on

the Internet. Customers also would be able to request a printed directory with residential

listings. As a result, Verizon is asking state regulators to waive the rule that now requires

a directory to be sent to all of its customers.

Verizon would not realize any savings from the streamlined directories. All of the savings

would flow to SuperMedia in the form of reduced paper costs and lower energy expenses

associated with printing and delivering the directories.