Facts About Books

Books are important tools in our daily activities. With the ability to provide answers to some of life’s most pressing questions (“What’s the capital of Peru?” “What ingredients do I need for lentil soup?” “¿Como se dice ‘recycle’ en Español?”), they are convenient, portable resources for both reference and entertainment.

Some books, however, have a shorter shelf-life than others.

College textbooks, for example, usually only have a semester-long life span, while you will always keep your grandmother’s favorite cookbook. If you’re a voracious reader, keeping books you’ve already read may not hold any appeal, as these “old” stories quickly become yesterday’s news.

When debating what to do with an unwanted book, consider a few facts:

• It’s easy to find someone else out there who is in need of your used book, whether it be for education or entertainment.
• Books cannot be easily recycled like other paper, because of the chemicals, such as glue, used to make them, so reuse is a great option.
• Recycling books creates less demand for new ones, therefore reducing demand for new paper products.
• The U.S. printed over 172,000 new book titles in 2006.
• According to The Environmental Paper Network, if the U.S. reduced its paper consumption by 10 percent annually, we could save enough energy to power 228,000 homes, the carbon emissions equivalent to removing 279,000 cars from the road and 11 billion gallons of water.

It’s easy to see that by simply reducing our consumption of new books, we can save a great deal of energy and virgin natural resources that require years to replenish. Take advantage of book donation sites, book swapping resources and internet sales sites such as eBay to keep your library full of new (to you) titles.

Also, when buying new books from the store, look for those printed on recycled paper. Paper made with 100 percent recycled content reduces total energy used by 44 percent, greenhouse gas emissions by 38 percent, wastewater by 41 percent and virgin wood use by 100 percent.

To find local resources where you can donate your used books, use Earth911.