Welcome to the waste directory - books
What can be recycled?
Books can't usually be recycled along with other paper recycling because of the glue that's used to bind them.
However, there are opportunities to resuse them as long as the books are in good condition.
READ International is a charity that supports schools in Tanzania and the UK. It was founded in 2004 by a group of socially entrepreneurial students at Nottingham University. These will most likely be used in the libraries, set up in various communities.
Waste hierarchy
What happens to this waste stream?
Reused 100%
Recycled 0%
Recovered 0%
Incinerated 0%
Landfilled 0%
Books waste stream
Where do I put books?
- Pack the books into cardboard boxes.
- Notify Soft Services of how much you have to collect.
- Books must be in good condition as they will be reused.
Who removes them?
- Anybook Library Services collects them from site direct.
What happens then?
- Books will be reused where possible. If books cannot be reused they are recycled.
How green is this waste stream?
- Everything is put to good use. Books in good condition are reused which means no waste is created.
- By recycling books if they cannot be sold we reduce our need for raw materials, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and reduce our carbon footprint.
- You are helping to protect and improve the environment.
What else can I do?
- If the books are not in good condition then you could always tear the pages from the spines and recycle the pages in the paper stream.