Why Recycle Kids Books

Asking your kids to give up their old story books, especially the ones they have outgrown, might be a difficult task. But if you teach them about what actually happens to their books and have them participate in helping you, it becomes very easy. Recycling books doesn't necessarily mean they are just thrown in the trash. Recycling books is easy and helps keep good books, even slightly tattered books in circulation.

First you will want to educate your child on the importance of recycling. Also, let them know that there are a lot of children out there who don't have books of their own. Help your child to understand that they are sharing their favorite stories with kids who would enjoy them just as much. Allow your child to help you find a local charity or church group that is excepting new and used articles.

Secondly, another cool way for kids to recycle their favorite books is to take them to second hand stores that will either purchase them or trade them for books that are more age appropriate. Trading old books for new ones can be a fun outing. If your child is an avid reader, monthly visits to a second hand store can be a reward.

Thirdly, tossing old books in the trash to clutter up landfills can be detrimental to a community. If a book is truly damaged and can't be giving to charity, sold at a garage sale or traded at a second hand bookstore, then teach your child to recycle the pages and the cardboard cover responsibly. Another option would be to create craft projects from torn pages of a book. Old pages can be used to make paper miche'. Cardboard book covers can be covered with fabric to make home made journals. Tattered pages can be placed in fireplaces to help get logs burning.

Recycling your child's old books can be a fun family event. Allowing your child to read the story one last time can take families down memory lane to when your child first learned to read. Time spent like that is precious and wouldn't it be nice if another family who is less fortunate, could have the same experience? I think so. Encouraging your family to recycle old or outgrown items is helpful to the community. Remember, waste not, want not. And the old cliche' another mans trash is another mans treasure.