We are addressing an important conservation problem an important conservation problem in this country as our landfills and paper recycling centers can no longer take all of the excess but perfectly serviceable books that our schools and libraries were trashing – with guilt – before HATW’s existence, for lack of other outlets. Most discarded books in the USA are shredded and reduced to pulp in a process that is innocuously termed “recycling” but in reality the destructive chemical processes used to destroy the books also releases harmful environmental pollutants. We are challenging that unhealthful practice. Contrary to popular conception, most of the books that are being destroyed here in the USA are not moldy and tattered but are instead often quality books that are still in good condition. Typically they are discarded by a relatively affluent households, schools and libraries which must periodically “weed out” their collection due to space constraints. Publishers often have “overstock” of new books or books with minor imperfections which they destroy.
HATW meets a pressing concern in poor societies all over the world by distributing there these “rescued” American surplus books at no charge to promote literacy and education where it is needed most.. The typical child growing up in even the more stable countries of sub-Saharan Africa rarely if ever gets a chance to own or even borrow a book, even if he has been taught to read. Books are very scarce in Africa and elsewhere in the Third World. Contrast this unhappy situation overseas with the abundance of books in our country, where schools and libraries are constantly declaring books surplus as they continually update their collections to meet taxpayers’ demanding expectations for the very latest books to meet escalating scholastic test standards and ambitious library acquisition goals. Many people are also discarding encyclopedia sets solely because they can now access the Encyclopedia Britannica and other up to date encyclopedia sets on the Web. W are collecting for shipment to the book starved countries of the world many fine used books which are in good condition. They deserve a new life with new readers. Since many Third World countries provide school and library services in English, our books work well for them.
Our book collection goals
HATW wants to place in service our book collection receptacles in as many municipal recycling centers and school and library parking lot locations as possible. We seek to organize broad based community support to contribute books to fill each container. Each collection receptacle holds up to nineteen tons of books, which is about 25,000 books. The containers are made of steel and are weatherproof and vandal proof and maintenance free. They do not require any foundation. They have an average service life of twenty years. It does not take long to fill these containers in many locations in several states where we collect books (see “Locations of Our Book Collection Containers”). Despite our collection of over five million books to date, we have not even scratched the surface of the abundant harvest of still functional textbooks and general reading books which we would like to rescue from destruction.
Our charity is willing to provide outside book collection containers at no charge to any municipal recycling center, or to any school, church, or temple for use in their parking lots. Is your town, school, church or other civic organization willing to provide a site for one of our community “surplus books for charity” collection containers?
Hosting one of our charity’s “surplus books for charity” collection centers makes a great community service focus for local students as well as scouts to hold ongoing book drives for the needy. Please help us find a school or house of worship to host a collection container in your town, or advocate for one in your town ‘s recycling center/Department of Public Works yard if you do have one there currently. If the proposed container is situated on public property, your municipal recycling coordinator can take credit in his or her periodic reporting to the state of recycling/reuse initiatives each time we empty the container. This translates into more money or equipment grants coming back to your town from the state as a reward for taking such waste abatement measures. Therefore there is an opportunity for significant cost savings to the town by participating in our charity’s dual waste abatement/book reuse for global literacy program. If we were not collecting these books, they would be going into your municipal trash pile and adding to the community’s trash collection expense. Participation in our surplus book collection program helps municipalities keep their trash bills and property taxes down as well as do a humanitarian service.
Our organization would take responsibility for emptying the collection container on a periodic basis each time it fills. We use federal government humanitarian assistance as well as private philanthropic programs to supplement any funds we raise ourselves to ship the books overseas.
The outside book collection containers which our charity provided free of charge for municipal recycling centers, and for schools, and library or church or temple parking lots come at your option in four different sizes ranging from 6 feet or 8 feet or 10 feet or 20 feet long, depending on space constraints. The collection containers come with either a drop slot through which books can be inserted, or at your option we could provide a different type of container with a door that opens into a “walk in” container. The “walk in” containers come with a set of latching braces on the doors which secure the container when it is not open for access. All four sizes of containers in both the drop slot or “walk in” styles can be set on dirt or grass as well as on a paved surface. The containers are maintenance free and our charity takes responsibility for emptying them promptly each time they fill.
If your municipal organization or library or house of worship or school is willing to provide a site for one of our community “surplus books for charity “collection containers, please ask the relevant municipal, church, or school official to contact us at tel 781 438-4051 or EMAIL US to discuss the possibilities. All we need is a letter, email, or phone call granting permission to our organization to have a container on the host organization’s premises for this charitable book collection operation.