Books For a Better World

Have you ever wondered where all the unwanted books go?

At Ohio University, they're given to the Campus Recycling team at the Ridges, who then gather up all the books collected and donates them to Better World Books , an international nonprofit organization that has the mission of world literacy. Better World Books carries out these books and sends them to places in need, or they determine the resale value and use the money earned to further promote literacy compaigns around the world. Campus Recycling is given the option of receiving a small rebate which goes to the Athens city library, Friends of the Library.

Out of all the books that are delivered to Campus Recycling, 95% are donated and the other 5% are recycled. Last year, Ohio University donated approximately 64 tons of books to Better World Books. The books come from various departments and faculty, professors, and administrators, who can easily put in a work order form to have Campus Recycling pick up the books. Athens community members can simply drop their unwanted books at Building 34 of the Ridges from 8:00am - 5:00pm on Mondays through Fridays. Unfortunately, students don't have a definite way of donating books, but it is currently Bobcats Recycle Student Organization's initiative to create a book recycling station so that it could be more convenient for everyone to recycle or donate books.

In Other News...

Follow this link for some helpful information on how to recycle various materials according to guidelines set out by the Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers.

These tips are intended for day-to-day recycling and not instructions on how perform a full clean-out, for more information on larger recycling endeavors, visit our Work Request page.

Below are more detailed descriptions of various recyclable materials

• Mixed Paper : (Non-glossy) Letterhead, copy paper, colored paper, non-glossy junk mail, envelopes.
• Magazines and Catalogs : Glossy paper, glossy junk mail.
• Glass : Rinse and remove caps. All colors can be mixed. Labels do not need to be removed.
• Beverage Cans : Please rinse.
• Newspaper : Inserts can be included.
• Paperboard and Cardboard : Cereal boxes, cracker boxes, pop and beer cartons, paper towel rolls, paper egg cartons, etc. Brown corrugated, paper grocery sacks, brown/manila envelopes. Remove plastic inserts and flatten.
• Tin/Steel Cans and Aluminum Scrap : Pet food cans, fruit and vegetable cans, etc. Aluminum foil, pie pans, and other small scrap. Material must be free of food. Labels do not need to be removed.
• Film Plastic : No longer accepting film plastics
• #1 - #7 Plastics : Plastic bottles, such as milk jugs, pop bottles, shampoo and detergent bottles. Clamshells and containers such as those used for salad, cottage cheese, yogurt and berries. No Styrofoam.
• E-Waste : Look for the green cabinets to recycle CD's, DVDs, cell phones, batteries and light bulbs at these locations.