How to Recycle Books in Chicago: Where to Donate, Repurpose & Dispose of Unwanted Books

Hardcover books can't go in your blue cart — the City's A-Z list of recycling opportunities marks "Books (hard cover)" as not accepted, and "Books (paperback)" as accepted. Either way, donating keeps them out of landfills. Here's where to donate, repurpose, or recycle unwanted books in Chicago.

📚 Why Hardcover Books Don't Go in the Blue Cart

Chicago's blue cart recycling program doesn't accept hardcover books because:

• Binding materials — glue, thread, and staples contaminate paper recycling streams

• Mixed materials — hardcover books combine cardboard, cloth, and sometimes plastic

• Processing challenges — books jam sorting equipment at material recovery facilities

Where to Donate Books in Chicago

One place that can't help: the Chicago Public Library. CPL says that because of the high cost of processing unsolicited materials, it does not accept donated materials, and it points donors towards shelters, foster homes, nursing homes, community agencies serving children, thrift shops and veterans groups instead.

Little Free Libraries

Chicago has hundreds of Little Free Libraries — small neighborhood book-sharing boxes where you can drop off books for others to take. No appointment, no questions asked.

Find one near you: littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap — search by ZIP code to see registered boxes in your area.

Goodwill & Salvation Army

Both accept book donations at Chicago-area locations. Books are sold in stores to fund job training and community programs.

• Goodwill: Multiple locations across Chicago — find a Chicago drop-off

• Salvation Army: Drop-off centers and scheduled pickups — 1-800-SA-TRUCK (1-800-728-7825)

Open Books

Open Books is a Chicago nonprofit that accepts book donations to support literacy programs. They run three stores — West Loop, Pilsen and North Lawndale — and take donations at all three, plus a handful of drop bins around the city. They welcome any sellable book in good condition, including fiction, nonfiction, cookbooks, craft books and children's books, along with LPs that still play. They don't take encyclopedias, older textbooks, magazines, VHS tapes or books on cassette, and they no longer offer free pickups.

Drop-off locations:

• West Loop store: 651 W. Lake St. — donate Tue-Thu 12pm-6pm, Fri-Sun 10:30am-6pm. Four boxes per donation, please.

• Pilsen store: 905 W. 19th St. — donate Tue-Sat 12pm-6pm. There's a 24-hour drop slot, but bring anything over 20 books during opening hours.

• North Lawndale: 3812 W 16th St. — by appointment only; contact Open Books to arrange one.

• Drop bins (50 loose books at a time, no boxes) — 645 W Couch Pl., behind the West Loop store; Lakeview, 3252 N. Broadway Ave.; and the Oak Park Library, 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Contact: (312) 475-1355 or open-books.org

How to Recycle Books (Last Resort)

If books are damaged, moldy, or otherwise undonatable, recycling is the next-best option.

Remove the Cover First

Paperbacks: Tear off the cover and recycle the interior pages in your blue cart. Toss the cover in the trash (it's usually coated or laminated).

Hardcovers: Separate the cover from the pages. The pages can go in your blue cart if you remove the binding. The cover goes in the trash.

♻️ Creative Reuse Ideas

Before recycling, consider:

• Art projects — book pages for collage, origami, or papier-mâché

• Packing material — shredded pages work as cushioning for shipments

What Not to Do

• Don't put hardcover books in your blue cart — they'll contaminate the load

• Don't leave books on the curb — they'll get wet and become trash

• Don't donate damaged books — libraries and nonprofits don't want them and can't use them