Swap Books, CDs, DVDs And Save Major Cash
Earth 911 (Website) - 5/24/2010 by Amanda Willis
School’s out for the summer, and it’s time to clean out the dorm room and get rid of last semester’s Intro to French textbook or High School Musical 2 soundtrack (we know, your little sis tossed it in your moving stuff last fall).
But, did you know that books cannot be easily recycled like other paper? This is because of the chemicals, such as glue, used to make them. Therefore reuse is a great option.
As for those old CDs and DVDs? They’re made out of plastic #6, which is a harder plastic to recycle.
Consider the swap option to but some extra cash in your pocket. According to Richard Pickering, founder of PaperBackSwap.com, SwapaCD.com and SwapaDVD.com, the average family saves hundreds of dollars a year by swapping books, CDs and DVDs through the mail.
PaperBackSwap.com has more than 4 million books to choose from, making it the largest book club in America. SwapaCD.com and SwapaDVD.com have more than 275,000 CDs and 155,000 DVDs. Membership is free. To date, the websites have saved members more than $20 million combined.
According to the Environmental Paper Network, if the U.S. reduced its paper consumption by 10 percent annually, we could save enough energy to power 228,000 homes, the carbon emissions equivalent to removing 279,000 cars from the road and 11 billion gallons of water.
If using a mail-in option isn’t your preference, use Earth911 to find a local recycling or donation center for used books or CDs and DVDs.
But, did you know that books cannot be easily recycled like other paper? This is because of the chemicals, such as glue, used to make them. Therefore reuse is a great option.
As for those old CDs and DVDs? They’re made out of plastic #6, which is a harder plastic to recycle.
Consider the swap option to but some extra cash in your pocket. According to Richard Pickering, founder of PaperBackSwap.com, SwapaCD.com and SwapaDVD.com, the average family saves hundreds of dollars a year by swapping books, CDs and DVDs through the mail.
PaperBackSwap.com has more than 4 million books to choose from, making it the largest book club in America. SwapaCD.com and SwapaDVD.com have more than 275,000 CDs and 155,000 DVDs. Membership is free. To date, the websites have saved members more than $20 million combined.
According to the Environmental Paper Network, if the U.S. reduced its paper consumption by 10 percent annually, we could save enough energy to power 228,000 homes, the carbon emissions equivalent to removing 279,000 cars from the road and 11 billion gallons of water.
If using a mail-in option isn’t your preference, use Earth911 to find a local recycling or donation center for used books or CDs and DVDs.
