How to Recycle Books| 2023 Complete Guide
In the US, printed books were sold for 750.89 million in 2020, according to Statista. Every year, 640,000 tons of books are discarded in landfills while the population of developing nations struggles to afford adequate books for their education. But what happens with all of them once they’re read?
Having your bookcases collapse under the weight of all the books you've stacked because you can't bear the thought of them going to a landfill isn't the solution, though. The ideal scenario is for us to teach others. Sharing our books with others is the only effective approach to do this.
You might be tempted to dump your old books in the garbage if you recently cleaned out your closets and bookcases and discovered mountains of outdated textbooks, novels, and other old reads. But hold off on moving too quickly. There are several eco-friendly options to recycle or upcycle your used books in order to give the pages a new use and prevent paper waste from ending up in landfills.
This article will cover all you need to know about safely recycling books, disposing of them in an eco-friendly manner, and where to do it so that information is preserved and the environment is not harmed.
Why recycle books? What are the benefits?
It's incredibly advantageous to recycle your books. It lessens garbage that ends up in landfills, aids in resource conservation, and could even bring in a little bit of cash.
If you want any further justifications, consider the fact that each ton of recycled paper:
Recycled paper also lessens the demand for more tree harvesting for wood pulp. Just 33% of the paper pulp used today, according to estimates, comes from recycled paper. The amount of recycled paper pulp that may be utilized to make new paper goods will also increase as a result of increasing the number of books that are recycled.
Beyond that, recycling books may also be a way to support worthy causes by raising money. Also, knowing that your old books will be reused might be comforting if you detest waste.
How to recycle gently-used books?
The best places to donate books might change, as well as recycling regulations from time to time. To assist you in finding the most recent information about book recycling in 2023, we have put together the list below. You'll discover all you require right here, from where to recycle books to the top markets.
Sell your books
You might wish to try eBay or AbeBooks instead if you have older antique or vintage books without ISBN numbers. These websites are excellent resources for anyone who has an older library collection because they specialize in older and out-of-print books.
You could also be able to return your textbooks to the campus bookstore of your nearby institution, depending on how old they are. Hence, if you're a current student, you may significantly lower the cost of your textbooks by selling your books back at the conclusion of the semester.
You may sell books that you no longer need or desire through a variety of channels:
Sell at a Local Independent Bookshop or Half Price Bookstore
Find out if there are any used book stores in your neighborhood to start. You can search online for one or ask friends and relatives if they know of one. Finally, you may get in touch with the bookstore to find out what kinds of books they take and how much they pay. You may also sell your books to a thrift shop nearby.
You may negotiate prices with both companies like Half Price Books and used book stores to find out who would offer you a better bargain.
Although other booksellers will give you store credit, some will pay you cash. Which one you favor is entirely up to you. The state of your book is one item to consider in this situation. Who likes a book that is coming apart and is tattered? This is why retailers often only accept books in decent shape. You can be asked to bring your books to certain retailers for evaluation. Once you initially get in touch with them, you may also inquire about this.
Sell Books on Facebook Marketplace
Since you can offer any sort of book in any condition on the Facebook marketplace, it can be a better choice than a traditional bookshop.
However, keep in mind that many customers like to pick up many books rather than just one or two. It could be preferable to sell books in groups of comparable titles or to arrange books into similar genres, styles, and reading levels.
Sell on Amazon and eBay
Both Amazon and eBay are great places to sell books. The used-goods platform on Amazon is excellent. The ease with which the ISBN may be quickly scanned to reveal the average selling price of a book on Amazon is something I particularly appreciate.
Another great alternative is eBay, particularly if you already have an account there. The purchasers must be contacted directly on eBay, so keep that in mind. In comparison to Amazon, eBay requires a little bit more labor because delivery is also your responsibility. You may choose the price yourself on eBay, though.
2. Donate Your Books
Old books don't need to be thrown out after being read. Donate it to your preferred charity instead to put it to good use.
Most small local thrift shops, Goodwill, Salvation Army, BetterWorldBooks, and others are eager to take gently worn books, and the money made from selling them will go to assist the charity. Try using this locator to identify a neighborhood charity in your region.
You may also contribute books and a few instructional periodicals to the public library or school in your area, but it can be helpful to phone ahead and find out whether they are currently collecting contributions. Some libraries only accept book contributions during specific periods of the year in order to collect money for library activities through yearly book sales.
Giving books to senior centers and small neighborhood coffee shops is common. Book sales are a common way for organizations like the AAUW to earn money for their causes. Also, if you only need to get rid of a few books, you may always search for the closest Little Free Library.
3. Give your books away
Although contributing books to a local charity is a possibility, you could have greater luck giving your books out for free depending on where you live and your transportation choices. A lot of interest will typically be generated by posting an advertisement on websites like Craigslist.com, Bunz.com, LetGo.com, or Freecycle.org. Also, you might offer your used books for free in neighborhood Facebook groups.
You may also just leave your books on your front porch or at the bottom of your driveway on a bright day if you live in a neighborhood with a lot of foot activity. The majority of the time, your neighbors will browse if you add a "Free" sign to your set-up.
4. Upcycle your old books
Old, vintage, and antique books are a fantastic source of inspiration for crafters. You may get inspiration for reusing old books by browsing sites like Pinterest. To get you started, the following are some well-liked projects to try:
Desk Organizer
Making an organizer out of a stack of books is one of the simplest and most effective upcycling projects. To arrange your workstation, all you need to do is take a stack of book pages, cut two circles out of them, insert cardboard tubes, and use the circular spaces you just made. For the book lover in your life, this is the ideal solution since they can still enjoy their priceless books without having to worry about them taking up too much room on the shelf.
Wall Clock
Perhaps you didn't know this, but you can make a wall clock out of an old book with little trouble. As the book's cover will function as the clock's face, projects like this one work best for thick volumes with attractive covers.
Book Journal
You may create your own journal by simply removing the pages from your preferred hardback version and replacing them with brand-new recycled pages. Your neighborhood craft store has everything you could possibly need, so get started on this imaginative project as soon as you have the chance!
Planter for Succulents
Turn an old book into a succulent planter to explore your creative side. All you have to do is hollow out a thick hardback textbook, line it, and plant some brightly colored miniature plants, similar to the methods for building an organizer out of a book.
Picture Frame
Also, used hardback books may be made into lovely picture frames that are fantastic since they can stand up on their own.
Vase
If you're feeling REALLY ambitious, you could create a "vase" out of old books. The worn and decorated pages will look fantastic on display if you cut them into the shape of a vase and link them together so they fan out in a 3D form, even if this won't be the kind of vase that can really contain flowers.
The majority of individuals already have books laying around, making them a great resource for a variety of home projects. So you're in luck if you want to work on a sustainable, environmentally friendly project and have a problem with packed bookcases.
5. Trade your books
Trading books is an additional effective way to keep them out of a landfill. Create a book exchange in your community to do this. A store, a neighborhood coffee shop, or a community center are a few examples of such locations.
This is a great way to meet your neighbors, plus it allows you to donate a textbook to a student who could be in desperate need of one. Not to mention the possibility that you will discover a new favorite book.
It's a good idea to speak with the venue management and discuss your ideas if you're unsure of how to begin a book swap. Instead, you may utilize social media to locate other locals who might be interested.
If you're a student, trading books could be very useful. In order for older and younger student generations to trade textbooks among themselves, you may form a Book Swap Group.
The website Paperback Exchange is another option. Its members create lists of books they wish to share and may request any book that they want to read for themselves. You may borrow one from a buddy just like you would a book, only there will be millions of them. Book Crossing and BookMooch are two websites that are comparable.
6. Recycle your old books.
While recycling your books is a more environmentally friendly alternative than giving or reselling them, you might want to do so if they are really old or not in the greatest of shape. It's usually preferable to find new uses for used objects if you can, so you should only think about this as your last resort.
Books come under the recycling category known as "mixed paper," which has a lesser value than other recyclable items like newspapers and corrugated cardboard. This category also includes phone books and catalogs. The majority of paper mills in the United States do, however, recycle both hardcover and softcover books.
In general, softcover books and periodicals may be recycled whole without being disassembled. To be safe, it's normally preferable to take off the covers of any hardcover books before recycling them because they can include materials that aren't made of paper. Hardcover books and textbooks can easily be placed in your curbside recycling bin alongside any used paperbacks once you have taken off the binding.
Moreover, keep in mind that books that have become moldy or moist should be destroyed or disposed of as they have no value in the recycling industry. Books that are extremely old and have brown or tan pages should also be thrown away since they cannot be recycled.
What to do before recycling books?
The magazine's staples, cardboard advertisements, or even perfume samples don't need to be removed when you're reading a magazine. The cover and binding can be left untouched.
You should take out and recycle the magazine's plastic bag if it was included in one.
You can recycle the entire paperback, including the binding, if it is a paperback book. Because the cover of a hardback book contains non-paper components, you must take it off.
There is no market for this material in recycling if the paper in your books or magazines has become tan or brown or has become moist. Still, hold off on discarding them. There is still a chance that they can be used unless they can no longer be read.
Think about giving them to charity, thrift shops, or secondhand bookshops as they could be grateful for them. They can still be utilized for a number of upcycling tasks.
How are books recycled?
As mentioned before, the first step in recycling books and magazines is to separate them from cardboard, office paper, and newspaper grades because both of these goods are made of mixed paper. Following that, a mill receives a bale of the combined paper.
The pulper, a piece of equipment within the mill, uses chemicals and water to break down the paper into fibers. The paper fibers then begin to bind together once any ink and glue have been removed. The fibers are then dried and rolled before being delivered to be used in the creation of new goods. Because mixed paper fibers are thinner than cardboard or office paper, this paper is recycled into lower-quality paper goods including coffee filters, egg cartons, and paper towels.
Lets get statistical about book recycling!
It's the end of the semester or, better still, you've graduated. Of course, you are wondering, "What should I do with my old textbooks?" It would be a shame to just let them go because they cost you an arm and a leg.
There are tons of papers that we throw away. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) most current report on garbage and recycling, "Paper and Paperboard" made up as much as 23.05% of the 293 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in 2018. Books included, 17.2 million tons (or 11.8%) of this paper and paperboard ended up in landfills.
The exact same data states that "Books composed of groundwood and chemical pulp totaled to roughly 690,000 tons, or 0.2% of total MSW output in 2018." Apart for the information gathered between 1990 and 2005, there is sadly very little information available on the particular waste management of books. Here is how the chart looks:
1source: epa.gov
Notwithstanding the fact that 33% or so of books were retrieved from the waste stream (and maybe repurposed), the EPA reported in 2009 that 0.4% of all garbage—or roughly 640,000 tons—went to landfills each year, with books accounting for 0.4% of this total.
This information is, admittedly, old and might not be totally applicable right now. Nonetheless, the tendency must have persisted if we look at the comparison between the aforementioned figure and the most current one that shows the management of non-packaging paper:
2Source: epa.gov
There is still a deluge of paper that ends up in landfills, with tons of books among it, even if we can see that overall numbers are declining and some book recycling is undoubtedly occurring. Imaginable heights of books are only one solution! Heartbreaking…
A survey of 570 K–12 schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota revealed that 37% of them keep outdated and damaged books on hand because they are unsure of what to do with them. The hundreds of more textbooks from K–12 institutions and higher education are disposed away in landfills. The vast quantities of abandoned outdated school textbooks are abusing both the spaces in buildings and landfills.
Paperback books were the most popular format in 2021, when more than 825 million books were sold, 450,000 of which were trade paperbacks, according to Statista.
Despite the fact that they appear beautiful on our shelves, books take a lot of paper, which means a lot of trees, to produce. In the United States, over 626,000 tons of paper are needed to manufacture books each year, and one tree may generate over 8,000 sheets of paper. Books may also quickly become worn out, which is another drawback.
There is a technique to get rid of a stack of books without affecting the environment. Learn how to recycle books like an expert so you can avoid putting them in the landfill where they will release greenhouse gasses.
Last but not least…!
Old books used to be routinely thrown in the garbage, but things have changed, and there are now so many different methods to repurpose your reading material. There are several methods to clear your book shelves and benefit the environment at the same time, from recycling your paperbacks to giving or selling your collectible volumes. Paper trash may clutter up our landfills and result in the unnecessary use of precious natural resources like forests, water, and oil. Yet, when we recycle books, we make a better decision that is environmentally beneficial and frequently more cost-effective as well.
We sincerely hope that the advice in this article was helpful, but if you're still looking for ways to make a smaller environmental impact, there are a number of other excellent green options, such as using your local library, buying only used books, or downloading your favorite books to an e-reader. A local or online book swap is another option if you wish to meet other readers and obtain free new books.
