Who Throws Away Books?

I’m currently training for the Cleveland Half Marathon and was out for my longest run to date – 11.5 miles – on Friday. I was definitely feeling exhausted and was about ½ mile from my house when I came across something disgusting: children’s books in the trash. You read right; someone on my street had thrown away children’s books in their trash cans. They must have been at the bottom of the can because the garbage man already had come and the books were strewn on their tree lawn (FYI – Because I’m not a Cleveland native and didn’t know the definition of the word tree lawn until recently, it’s the strip of grass in between the sidewalk and grass.) If this many books were on the tree lawn, I can’t imagine how many must have been thrown away.

My anger is what really got me through that last ½ mile. And my disgust at someone’s complete disregard for not only the environment but the millions of children who are in need of books locally and nationally.

Perhaps you’ve never thrown away books – but have you ever thrown away old clothing, garage supplies, school supplies or miscellaneous odds and ends? Spring cleaning is around the corner, and while you may be tempted to trash some items, don’t do it. There’s a way to donate almost anything.

Check out some of my finds:

http://www.freecycle.org/ – Give (and request) free stuff from your own neighbors. Each local Freecycle group works to “reuse and keep good stuff out of landfills.”
http://www.earth911.com/ – Find out how to dispose of various products (oil, paint, computers)
http://www.cuyahogaswd.org/ – Find out how to give away and dispose of items in Cuyahoga County (yard waste, books, paper). Don’t live in Cuyahoga County? Check your county’s solid waste district website.