Pick Up or Get Rid of Some Books

Submitted by Will County

Photo: Tim Anderson of the Will County Land Use Department’s Resource Recovery and Energy Division collects books from school children during the annual Earth Flag Awards. An estimated 2,400 books were collected for the annual Book Reuse and Recycling Event scheduled for June 5-7 at Joliet Park District’s Pilcher Park Nature Center. (Photo courtesy of Will County Executive Larry Walsh’s office)

The annual Will County Book Reuse and Recycling Event will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 5-7, at Joliet Park District’s Pilcher Park Nature Center, 2501 Highland Park Drive.

Schools, libraries and members of the general public can bring any unwanted books for reuse and recycling, said Tim Anderson of the Will County Land Use Departments Resource Recovery and Energy Division. The books will be available to anyone attending the event free of charge. Categories include fiction, non-fiction, children’s, romance, hobby, travel, health and living, religion, textbooks, periodicals, magazines and cookbooks.

For the second consecutive year, Will County students kicked off the book event by bringing children’s books to the annual Earth Flag Awards ceremony on May 13. The Earth Flag Ceremony, hosted by the Will County Land Use Department’s RRE Division, recognizes schools in the Will County Region for their recycling efforts. Students brought in an estimated 2,400 books.

The annual book event prevents thousands of books from going unused or dumped into landfills, said Anderson. Instead, these books are redistributed free. Books that are not reused will be shipped for recycling at the end of the three-day event.

“Our goal is to promote literacy and improve the environment through recycling,” Anderson said.

Although document destruction has been offered as part of this event in the past, Anderson said, this year it will be offered separately from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at the University of St. Francis. Documents will be shredded on site. All Will County residents are welcome.

The reuse-recycling event is co-sponsored by Will County RRE and the Joliet Park District. Contact Anderson at (815) 727-8834, or go to www.willcountygreen.com for additional information.

The Will County Land Use Department is led by Director Curt Paddock and is under County Executive Larry Walsh’s office.