# Books into landfill **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 20, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014 "2021-09-20T19:07:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/41 "2021-09-28T17:39:28Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > It’s the binding. That mass of cardboard, glue, (sometimes actual stitching) and every single page all in a single strip. Imagine trying to run that through even an industrial-strength shredder. If I, hypothetically, cut the cover off, that would be recyclable as paper, right? I can get why thread would cause a problem, but a mass of glue and paper shouldn’t be a problem. Industrial shredders can shred crushed cars - I can’t see why a hardback would be a problem. Plus, aren’t chemicals used to soften and separate the fibers? I don’t doubt you’re right, because most authoritative recycling websites, including mine here in Seattle, do agree not to put in hardbacks. I’m just unclear on why. What do libraries or other organizations with large numbers of books do with worn out books - or just unwanted copies that they can’t sell? ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/42 "2021-09-28T17:46:55Z")
I believe the problem is that the equipment used in recycling is customized to handle the material in an expected form. The sorters that pick out paper are expecting it be in the form of flexible sheets, newspaper, magazines, etc. A book could be recycled, but the recycling facilities are not going to have automated machines to handle books. A place which recycled a lot of books–like the library system in a big city–might be able to justify having specialized book recycling equipment, but most recycling centers wouldn’t get enough books for it be financially worthwhile. As a guess, I would assume that recycling centers could handle the pages of books if you ripped the book into sections that were about the thickness of a magazine. I wouldn’t think that the pages would have to be separated into individual pages. A group of pages about 50 pages thick seems like it would be handled like a magazine by the recycling machines. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/43 "2021-09-28T22:24:46Z")
That book’s worth more than 50 cents, BTW. > **[Habitable Planets for Man: Dole, Stephen H.: 9780833042279: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Habitable-Planets-Man-Stephen-Dole/dp/0833042270)** > > Buy Habitable Planets for Man on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders There is also no substitute for history books that were written at the time that the event happened. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/44 "2021-09-28T22:29:37Z")
Was it something like this? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/k-zFvXWL0FA/hqdefault.jpg "Book Recycling Video Demonstration") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-zFvXWL0FA) In my old town, for some years, the library book sale would send the leftovers to a facility in a town 35 miles away that employed mentally disabled people. They had a program where the higher-functioning people would remove the bindings with a band saw, and then they would recycle the paper. Then, the price of gas rose and the price of paper for recycling tumbled, and it was no longer cost-efficient for them to pick them up, and we didn’t have a volunteer who would deliver them, so we hired a dumpster and that’s what happened to the ones that weren’t sent to local thrift stores (and, in my case, a carload went to my church’s rummage sale a couple weeks later). ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/45 "2021-09-28T22:36:20Z")
I have told people, online and IRL, that if you subscribe to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which provides books to young children, it really is OK to let them read them (and color in them, tear out the pages, etc.) The library I volunteer at gets stacks of them, obviously unread. The library in my old town has a glass-topped coffee table with a base made of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. If somebody wanted one, they would sell it to them for a donation of any size, and of course had plenty to replace it. Which reminds me of this: > **[Charity shop begs women not to return used copies of Fifty Shades of Grey](https://metro.co.uk/2016/03/22/charity-shop-begs-women-not-to-return-used-copies-of-fifty-shades-of-grey-5767801/)** > > Second-hand erotica - what every woman wants. At one time, we could probably have done that with “The Da Vinci Code.” ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/46 "2021-09-28T23:19:40Z")
It was a number of people working at a waist-high trough thing, but a similar idea. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/47 "2021-09-29T05:16:17Z")
Interesting I did not know there was a paperback version. I had to order mine (hardcover) in 1974 from a “Books In Print” catalog by mailing the distributor. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > That book’s worth more than 50 cents, BTW. . I have a large number of interesting books that probably have certain value. I also have a large poster from the re-release of the original Star Wars that I bought off a friend who rand a local theatre. I’ve seen original posters quoted at $400 or more. A quick perusal of eBay shows one listed for $750. Chaos and The Art of Moebius, by Moebius are both listed over $200 on eBay. (I also have a framed art print of the cover from the latter) I have no idea how definite such prices are, but I suppose I could go into business selling my collection one day… Assorted art books by Frazetta, Syd Mead, Kaluta, etc. I’d have to see how close to first edition they are, but I’ve had some almost since they were first published. OTOH, I have more than half a dozen recycle containers (got them cheap) full of paperbacks, mostly science fiction. Maybe a two thirds of them I picked up over the last 30 years, new… the rest have already been through those used book stores. When I left college and sold my paperback collection used, 15¢ a book, I made $30 back when that was not bad money. I’m not sure if there is as much of a demand any more that I could sell them. Certainly, the market for my 1970’s and 1980’s mainframe programming books is somewhat limited. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/48 "2021-09-29T22:35:34Z")
Actually, some vintage programming books are surprisingly valuable. It doesn’t hurt to look them up. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/49 "2021-09-29T23:17:17Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > It’s the binding. That mass of cardboard, glue, (sometimes actual stitching) and every single page all in a single strip. Imagine trying to run that through even an industrial-strength shredder. All you need is the right kind of shredder. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/PsDuqamcRVs/maxresdefault.jpg "Extreme powerful crusher machines fast crushing everything for new recycle. Shredder !") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsDuqamcRVs&t=90) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/50 "2021-09-30T00:04:54Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > All you need is the right kind of shredder. Once again, recycled paper goes for $30-$40 _per ton_. How much do you want to spend on infrastructure? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/51 "2021-09-30T03:04:42Z")
All I could think of while watching that was, “What would happen if this thing started shredding itself?” ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/52 "2021-09-30T08:38:26Z")
I’m guessing its $30-40 for fairly consistent recycled paper. Recycled paper with lumps of carboard, fabric, thread and dried glue would go for a lot less. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/53 "2021-09-30T14:43:59Z")
Cardboard is just paper, and I can’t imagine dried glue is a problem. Most recycling setups these days are - at least for paper - single stream. They get all kinds of stuff with paperclips, staples, envelopes (with glue as well as those plastic ‘windows’), glossy paper, boxes with tape all over them, etc. Once they start breaking the paper down into fibers, it’s relatively easy at that point to remove a fair amount of that foreign material. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/54 "2021-09-30T15:42:39Z")
Makes one wonder, doesn’t. For years I frequently shopped at a resale shop run by handicapped adults. Their book section was better than half of the building. I found some very good books after I waded through whole encyclopedia sets, readers digest books and bibles. Many, many bibles. I found lots of money flipping through the books. I always gave it to the checker. I suggest you take your books to a place like that or Goodwill and just donate them. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/55 "2021-09-30T16:01:26Z")
Aren’t there people looking for books to fill the libraries in their trophy homes, whether or not they read them? I thought that there were booksellers who sold “books by the yard” for them. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/56 "2021-09-30T22:44:05Z")
Yes, I remember when a local restaurant opened with bookshelves as part of the decor. The owner mentioned there were placs you could buy a mixture of books by the yard for decor, and they were an eclectic mix. As opposed to Ikea, which seems to have an entire shelf at a time of one particular Swedish book. Maybe there aren’t many books in Swedish? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/57 "2021-10-01T22:34:41Z")
A while back, I was at an estate sale, and almost didn’t buy a bag of sewing patterns (which I carry in my online store) but when I saw a lot of them were uncut, went ahead and did so anyway. While inspecting the patterns at home before listing them, I found $82 in crisp bills from 1984. Had I found the money while at the store, I would have given it to the people running the sale, but I didn’t, so I made a $78 profit right there! Cashiers always did double takes when looking at that money, because it didn’t look real to them. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2021, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/58 "2021-10-02T00:15:26Z")
Wow! I love found money. Another thing I found lots of were playing cards. Seems like they were always aces. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2021, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/59 "2021-10-02T02:54:07Z")
I once found a letter with a woman’s mammogram results in a book. (Normal, thank heavens.) I’ve also found credit card receipts and airplane ticket stubs a few times. When we were setting up for a library book sale in my old town, we found enough photographs and other memorabilia (including a ticket to an event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics) that I got a poster board and some of those sticky dots, mounted them on the board, and wrote “DO YOU KNOW THESE PEOPLE? IS THIS YOURS?” on it. We did get a few claimers. ---
**Author:** ![pmwgreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2021, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014/60 "2021-10-04T20:35:43Z")
I will never throw away my “IBM System 370” manual. I’m keeping it to show grandchildren. “Granpappy, why was this page intentionally left blank?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-into-landfill/951014.md?page=4)