This article was originally published on June 24, 2016.
Updated article published on July 3, 2019.
Have you ever wondered “what am I supposed to do with my old textbooks?” This article will give you insight into what to do with your used books.
You have read from our other tips and blogs about why textbooks cost so much and why they lose value so fast. BookScouter finds you the best prices for your used textbooks. But what do you do when you checked the condition of the books you want to sell and they aren’t worth very much?
Your first instinct may be to throw your books in the trash, but hold up! There are better options.
“Houston, we have a problem.”
A study by the United States National Wildlife Federation partnered with textbook publishers and the United States Environmental Protection Agency discovered that 640,000 tons of books are deposited into landfills every year. That is .4 percent of all municipal solid waste in a year! This statistic does not mean recycling textbooks is inconsequential. Quite the opposite! This study reveals the massive amount of waste we generate each year, including disposal of books.
Looking at a smaller region, a survey of 570 K-12 schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota found that 37 percent of them store old and damaged books in the school because they do not know what to do with the books. The other thousands of textbooks from K-12 schools and higher education are dumped into landfills. Space in buildings and landfills are both being abused by the mass amounts of books discarded.
Why do we need solutions?
The amount of waste generated from old textbooks is astounding. I bet you were not expecting those kinds of numbers above, right? Not shocked, read this: According to this article published by Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Protocol (SWEEP) in 2018, we have fewer than 18 years remaining before the landfills in the United States are at capacity. Some of those landfills may reach their limit in half of that time. These findings demand a response and change of behavior in our purchasing and discarding of books.
Recycling textbooks can greatly improve our waste problem.
As mentioned above, while the waste is not only from books a significant amount of items in landfills come from discarded books. Each book disposed of in a landfill adds up quickly. The United States is already exporting waste to other countries. These reasons alone should cause pause before throwing anything away, especially books.
Solutions to the Book Problem:
If after checking to see if you can resell the textbook on BookScouter, with little to no luck, consider these options:
Donate Your Books
What should schools do with these rooms of old books? What should you do with your books from 10 years ago? First, books with no market value can be donated.
If you live in the United States, you have several options.
Drop Off Sites for Your Book Donations
Better World Books provides donation boxes in select locations. Since the early days of Better World Books in South Bend, Indiana, this company has focused on addressing environmental and social needs through their book resell strategy. We recommend looking into donating to their efforts first to make the greatest impact.
Donating books to Better World Books makes an environmental and social impact.
From Miami to Minneapolis and Kansas City to Boston, Better World Books provides drop off sites throughout the eastern half of the U.S. CHECK HERE to see find a drop off site is located near you.
A local option is to donate your books to organizations like Goodwill, Salvation Army, and your community’s thrift store. These centers will take donations of almost any sort, but be sure to check their specific guidelines to donations. If you already donate your clothes or former household items to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, adding books that you no longer need to your “donate” pile is easy.
Last, but certainly not least, it is easy to find a home for your textbooks by checking your local library branch’s website for their donation process. Local libraries could use your books in their system or find another avenue for book donation on your behalf. Several library organizations, even those of small cities like the Springfield, Missouri Library, host book sales every year that serve as fundraisers for the local library branches.
Library book sales are great places to donate your books and raise funds for your local community.
Where Can I ship donated books?
The following are great options for making a global impact.
Books Through Bars and Books to Prisoners share a similar mission. These organizations re-ship your books to men and women who are incarcerated with the hope of re-introducing a love of reading and breaking the cycle of recidivism. Paperback dictionaries are in high demand here. If you have an extra one or two, consider donating those books specifically to these organizations.
Books for Africa accepts textbook donations so students of all ages in Africa can receive educational materials. Their goal is to eliminate the book famine across the African continent and raise literacy rates through strategic book donations.
Donating books to organizations like Books For Africa aid in global literacy.
Trade Your Books
Wanting to still make some sort of profit off of your book? Consider trading in your book for another item like new-to-you books, movies, or points towards another wanted item.
You likely already lend or swap books with friends. Companies like PaperBack Swap expand your book-sharing network. PaperBack Swap has over one million books you can swap, ranging from popular titles to obscure books.
BookMooch and Title Trader use point systems for trading in your books. BookMooch focuses specifically on trading in books. Users only need to pay for shipping books, and receive points in exchange for the books they have given. BookMooch also allows users to donate their points to charities including children’s hospitals.
Title Trader’s platform is for books in addition to CDs, DVDs and VHSs. We know that VHS has to make a cool comeback at some point. Vintage lovers, keep an eye on Title Trader. Another multi-item trade site is Swap.com. Beyond books, users can also exchange collections of toys, clothes and more on the site or the Swap App.
Recycle Your Books
If your book is in unacceptable condition for donation, recycle the book rather than throwing it in the trash. Always research the recycling measures you need to take by looking online or calling your local recycling service.
Removing the hard cover of a book might be required before recycling.
It is common for recycling services to require the removal of the hardback cover because of the material and strong glue that binds the pages. Yet some recycling facilities are capable of shredding the entire book. Need to remove the hardback cover? It’s easy with THESE STEPS.
Earth911 provides tips for finding and appropriately recycling books. Scroll to the bottom of THIS PAGE where Earth911 will help you locate places to donate books based on the type of material.
Find where and how to recycle your books using the Earth911 Recycling Locator.
Recycle-A-Textbook is a sustainable solution provider for college students. They make it simple to obtain their recycling bins on campus. Recycle-A-Textbooks also strategically makes an impact on students and the environment. After you apply, you can place several collection bins around campus to save textbooks from the trash. Scroll to the bottom of THIS PAGE to see the partnership impact by numbers. If you do not see your school listed, it’s easy to join the movement!
The donation and recycling processes sometimes seems like a hassle at first. However, with all the information you need being as easy as a click or a phone call away, donating and recycling are much simpler solutions to an even greater problem (ahem, the massive waste piling up: see articles linked above). Be part of the solution!
If you can’t sell your textbook on BookScouter, donate your textbooks to benefit education locally and abroad. Recycling textbooks keeps them out of the landfill and repurposes them. The next time you feel the urge to throw a book in the trash, don’t. Find a new life for your textbook.
Want to go a step further?
We are big fans of physical books, that isn’t a secret. However, we’re also fans of responsibly using books and caring for the environment.
When looking at using books, consider which books need to be physical purchases. Of those, can any be rented, borrowed, or purchased used? If you do not need to purchase a physical book, check out audio or paperless platforms. Lowering the demand of printing books also greatly impacts the environment.
Making An Impact with your book usage and purchases:
Renting Books
Renting books is most often practiced by college students. Since the rental explosion popularized by Chegg in 2003, most college campuses encourage students to rent their textbooks either through the campus bookstore or other platforms like Chegg. Bookscouter.com not only compares prices for selling books, but you can also compare prices for renting the books you need.
Borrowing Books
The least expensive method for using books is borrowing. We all know generous people, and generous people with books. You may want to read a book after a friend raves about it. Consider asking them to lend you their copy for you to enjoy. This similar concept can be used on college campuses as well. If you have trouble finding someone to lend you a book, offer that they could borrow one of yours in exchange. When borrowing books make sure you take extra care of your friends’ property.
Buying Books
Shopping second hand is increasing in popularity, and for good reason. To make less of an impact on the environment we all need to shop second hand more often for various items–books included. Make BookScouter.com your first stop when you need to purchase a book. You’ll find this platform also saves you money. BookScouter includes popular vendors like Amazon.com and sellbackyourBook.com on the price comparison tool. Once you are done with the book, sell the book back through BookScouter.com.
