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Paperbacks go in curbside paper recycling whole. Hardcovers do not: the rigid boards and spine have to come off first and go in the trash, and a hardcover you cannot strip belongs in the garbage rather than the bin. Donate anything still readable, and note that Better World Books takes drop-offs but its donations are not tax-deductible. Before you go, confirm that a local recycling center accepts the material in its current condition.
- Recycling route
- Check locally
Paperbacks, hardcovers, textbooks, and reference books. One of the few household materials that genuinely recycles as paper, with a hardcover exception people usually get wrong.
Where to Recycle
- Curbside paper recycling, for paperbacks and stripped hardcover pages
- Library sales and Friends of the Library groups
- Thrift stores and charity shops
- Better World Books drop boxes
- Little Free Libraries and community book exchanges
How to Prepare
- 1Offer readable books to a library sale, thrift store, or Little Free Library before recycling anything
- 2Put paperbacks and phone books in curbside paper recycling whole
- 3Tear the rigid covers and spine off a hardcover and bin those, recycling only the inner pages
- 4Bin the whole hardcover if you cannot get the cover off
- 5Keep out covers with metallic or glitter finishes and waxy coatings, which are contaminants
- 6Remove plastic dust jackets and spiral bindings
- 7Bin water-damaged or moldy books rather than donating or recycling them
Special Instructions
Municipal instructions are explicit: tear off and discard the hard covers and spines, place only the inner paper pages in recycling, and put the item in the garbage if you cannot remove the cover. The boards, cloth, and adhesive are not paper and behave as contamination. Covers with metallic or glitter embellishment and waxy coatings are excluded for the same reason. On donation, Better World Books is genuinely operating and says it never throws a book away, with drop boxes holding around 800 books that fill quickly, though there is no pickup service. One correction: Better World Books is a for-profit social enterprise, so donations to it are not tax-deductible.
Environmental Impact
Books are heavy paper and recycle well once the non-paper parts are off, but reuse beats recycling comfortably here because a readable book has obvious onward value and libraries, schools, and secondhand shops absorb large volumes. The practical failure mode is whole hardcovers thrown in a paper bin, where they contaminate it.
Sustainable Alternatives
- Donate to a library sale or thrift store
- Stock a Little Free Library
- Sell textbooks and collectibles online
- Pass books to schools, shelters, and prison book programs
Official guidance and resources
Accepted items and drop-off rules can vary by location. Check the destination before you go.
What’s Accepted
Not Accepted
- Whole hardcover books in curbside paper recycling
- Covers with metallic, foil, or glitter embellishment
- Waxy-coated covers
- Water-damaged or moldy books at donation points
- Books still in plastic dust jackets or spiral bindings
FAQs
Can books go in curbside recycling?
Paperbacks can, whole, in your paper recycling. Hardcovers cannot until the rigid boards and spine come off, because those are board, cloth, and adhesive rather than paper and behave as contamination.
How do I recycle a hardcover book?
Tear off and discard the hard covers and spine, then put only the inner paper pages in recycling. If you cannot get the cover off, the whole book belongs in the garbage rather than the bin.
Where can I donate used books?
Libraries, schools, and secondhand shops absorb large volumes, and Better World Books runs drop boxes that hold around 800 books. There is no pickup service, and boxes fill quickly, so check before making the trip.
Are Better World Books donations tax-deductible?
No. Better World Books is a for-profit social enterprise, so donations to it are not tax-deductible. This is widely misreported, and it is worth knowing before you claim one.
What about books with glitter or metallic covers?
Leave them out. Metallic and glitter embellishments and waxy coatings are excluded for the same reason hardcovers are: they are not paper, and they contaminate the pulp.
Should I donate or recycle books?
Donate anything still readable. Books recycle well once the non-paper parts are off, but a readable book has obvious onward value, so reuse beats recycling comfortably here.
Recycle books
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