Can i recycle paperbacks

The paper recycling process has five to seven lifecycles before the fibers become too short to make new paper. Books and magazines are at the middle of this lifecycle, meaning they were produced from higher-quality paper fibers like office paper.

Skip to content. You can also leave the cover and binding. For paperback books, you can recycle the book whole, including the binding. If either your books or magazines have gotten wet or the paper has turned tan or brown, they should be thrown away with your household trash, as there is no recycling market for this material. Why Recycle Books and Magazines Each ton of paper recycled saves 3 cubic yards of landfill space, gallons of oil and 17 trees, not to mention 4, kilowatts of energy and 7, gallons of water Paper accounts for half the weight of all recyclables collected in curbside programs, and books and magazines are some of the heaviest paper products We only get 33 percent of our new paper pulp from recycled materials ; the rest must be sourced from tearing down trees and wood chips Book and Magazine Recycling Process Since both books and magazines are mixed paper, the first step in recycling is to separate these products from cardboard, office paper and newspaper grades.

Is there a reuse market for books? Does the ink on book and magazine paper affect recycling? Our bookstore manager did share with me one type of book that she can always sell, no matter its condition. Classic books on school reading lists get snapped up every semester when the hold list gets too long.

To bring it back to Marie Kondo, one of her methods from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up had a profound impact on my ability to remove unwanted objects from my life. When I first read that she wanted me to thank items for their time and service, I thought that was a little too wacky for my tastes. But then I tried it. Try it! Make sure to look up your local recycling policies. With their binding and glue, books are mixed materials so the recycling process is different.

In addition, many recyclers do not want the glue inside hardback book spines mixed in with the paper. That means the hardback must be removed with a saw, which is a time-consuming process if you have a lot of books.

If your local recycling company will not accept hardback books, that is probably why. Why should you recycle books? There are some who would say it is a sin to throw a book away. We will skip that argument and go straight to the environmental impact. Paper is made from trees. Rethink Recycling shares that it takes one tree to make 25 books. The more virgin paper we consume, the more trees we have to cut down. The more paper we recycle, the fewer trees we have to cut down.

Books are also such a great source of knowledge, information and entertainment. Even with the advent of e-readers, they are still in high demand. Make sure your books get to people who will enjoy them just as much as you did. How to reuse books We are going to start with reuse because it makes sense to reuse books whenever possible.

Besides, if you do not live in a community where books are accepted in your curbside recycling bin, reusing books may be easier for you. If you want to make some money off your books, inquire at a local used bookstore to see if they buy old tomes. There are also book exchanges where you bring in your book, pay a very small fee and take a new book home with you.

See if your local Friends of the Library program holds a book sale or runs a bookstore. Book sales are a very popular way for libraries to raise money and make sure books are put back to good use.