That sound you’re hearing in the war on phone books?

Cheering trees.

On Tuesday, a federal judge handed a victory to Seattle in a lawsuit over the city’s opt-out yellow pages program, one of the toughest campaigns against the hefty paper directories in the country.

The judge upheld the program as constitutional. He denied the phone book companies’ claims that yellow pages are protected speech under the First Amendment.

And he wrote that the city’s goals of reducing waste and protecting residents’ privacy outweigh any burdens imposed on Dex One, SuperMedia and other phone book companies that sued the city.

(Read more about the ruling here: Phone book company loses court fight).

On Wednesday, enviros applauded the ruling. And city officials trumpeted the number of rejected books: More than 35,000 homes and businesses have cancelled deliveries of 222,500 yellow pages since the program began in May.

“We are ecstatic with the outcome,” Heather Trim, chairperson of the volunteer group, Zero Waste Seattle, said in a statement.

Phone-book giant Dex One began delivering its yellow pages this month. That is, to people who still want them. So maybe what you’re hearing is the silence of fewer phone books thudding on door steps.

Do you ever use the yellow pages? No. I search stuff online.

Yes. I love the feel of paper.

Yes. My kid needs a booster seat at the table. View Results

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