BookGive Celebrates Earth Day Every Day
The first Earth Day took place on April 22, 1970, and organized over 20 million people in the United States to act against the severe harm industrialization was causing to the planet and its people. Groups fighting for individual causes rallied together for a common goal—to demand greater protections for our planet. This event spurred the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and numerous environmental protection laws. Now Earth Day mobilizes one billion people in a global effort to educate and encourage meaningful action for our planet.
As we approach the 51st anniversary of Earth Day, BookGive joins in the spirit of the movement to educate and encourage our community to take positive action for the planet. According to the US Environmental Protection agency, books created 690,000 tons of material waste in 2018—the most recent year reported. That is down from 1.24 million tons in 2000, so we’ve certainly made major strides in the United States. However, our work isn’t done.
When books are processed as material waste, they can either be recycled, turned from waste to energy, or sent to landfills. Data for the waste management of books is only available between 1990-2005. In 2005, the last year reported, 24% of the book waste was recycled, 14% was turned from waste to energy through combustion, and 62% ended up in landfills.
Paperbacks are easy to recycle and likely contribute to much of the 24% of book waste recycled in 2005, but the cover materials and glue used to bind hardcovers are often more difficult to recycle. BookGive works with a number of organizations and facilities that prefer hardcovers, which make it easy to keep these durable books within our community.
We also partner with Dream Books, a Denver-based company, to properly recycle books that are no longer suitable for circulation. As much as we would like to find new homes for all of the books donated, there are some that are too outdated or damaged to keep on our shelves. Dream Books helps us keep these books out of the landfill. Because they believe in our mission, Dream Books is also supports BookGive financially as one of our corporate donors.
Our work at BookGive is to keep books in the hands of individuals, schools, and nonprofits throughout metro Denver. Every donation received at our service station is one less book that winds up in our waste stream. Since our official opening in March 2020, we’ve kept 44,157 books in our community. As Covid vaccinations increase and restrictions loosen, BookGive is excited to expand the number of nonprofits, schools, and organizations we can serve to make sure everyone in our community has access to new or gently used books. We look forward to keeping Denver green – and reading – for years to come!
If you are looking for a few ways to celebrate Earth Day this year with some literary flair, here are a few suggestions:
- Support BookGive’s work by becoming a Page Turner, making a monthly contribution. Even $10 per month makes a big difference.
- Sort through your books and set aside a donation for BookGive! We accept donations on Tuesdays between 10 AM and 1 PM. Check our book donation protocols here.
- Learn about the Future Library in Norway, which planted one thousand trees in 2014 in order to print a special anthology of books in 2114!
- Read a book about the Earth—past, present, or future. (If you enjoy sci fi/fantasy, our blog writer recommends The Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin!)
- Build a Little Free Library in your neighborhood and help spread literacy and sustainability.
However you celebrate this year, know that at BookGive, every book we keep out of the waste stream and in the hands of readers is a victory for our planet.
This blog contributed by BookGive volunteer, Tori Henson.
Resources:
https://earth911.com/home-garden/recycling-mystery-hardcover-books/
