[Jeff Chandler]

how much paper is wasted with the distribution of mail catalogs that are usually discarded.

Those catalogs are produced from farmed trees and recycled paper that will decompose, and as long as the publisher makes a profit for the sales they generate, they are not wasted.

[steve86]

as long as the publisher makes a profit for the sales they generate, they are not wasted

That's peculiar accounting. The unsolicited junk mail sent to me is most certainly wasted, at the production level, the transport level, and the waste level.