Book Recycling
Villanova University has acquired a dumpster for collecting unwanted hardcover and paperback books that cannot be donated, in order to send them to be recycled at a local facility that can process these items properly. If you have unwanted books that cannot be donated, please reach out to recycling@villanova.edu to learn more about this program.
It is always better to reuse an item than recycle it, as it requires less energy, labor, and money to keep an item in its current form than to change it into something new. With that being said, we encourage VU community members to donate unwanted books whenever possible as the first option, and then choose recycling as a last resort. At VU, placing books in the trash should never be a consideration, as these items contain valuable materials that could be used to create new paper products, if recycled properly, reducing the demand for harvesting trees to produce paper. Please try to donate what you no longer need and reach out to the VU Waste & Recycling team if you need assistance. For more guidance regarding book donation, please visit the American Library Association's website found here: https://libguides.ala.org/book-donations
Books, especially hardcover books, can be difficult to recycle because of the many different types of materials used to make up a hardcover book, as well as their weight. It is for these reasons that you should not place books in single stream recycling bins on campus, but instead take advantage of our Book Recycling program to make sure the items are recycled properly. To take part in this program currently, please submit a Facilities Management Office Work request to have your books picked up for recycling. The FMO work request form can be found using the button link at the top right of this page if viewing from a computer, or at the bottom of this page if viewing from a mobile device.