Posted by: Mary Murphy, Senior South Regional Director

Helping Higher Education to Recycle!

 Leon County Recycling Services & Education in Tallahassee FL has teamed up with Better World Books to help encourage our local universities to recycle their “no value” textbooks.  At the end of each semester, the 50,000 Tallahassee students try to get some value back for the books they bought at the beginning of the semester.  Inevitably, some of these books are worth nothing.  That’s where Better World Books (BWB) comes in.  Normally the bookstores take these books back and throw them away as a service to their customers (students).  However, BWB has developed a system for reselling, reusing or recycling textbooks.

 Using their turnkey approach, no books wind up in the landfill, literacy programs benefit both with increased funding or books to distribute and kids of all ages can learn to read.  In addition, BWB provides funding to groups on campus who serve as collection crews for the books.  To date, BWB has diverted over 4,700 tons of books from going into landfills.  They have also provided over 520,000 books and $2 Million dollars to various non-profits in the US and around the world.

                 In two book drives, Leon County diverted 3 tons of books from the landfill.  Currently we are working with Florida State University but are planning on expanding to Florida A&M and TCC this summer.  This is a very easy program for any local government to participate in.  All you need is a contact at the University and some room to store boxes.  BWB handles the rest!  For more information check out Better World Books on the web at www.betterworldbooks.com or contact Mary Murphy, Southeast Regional Director, mary@betterworldbooks.com or (770) 596-7497.