Working to declutter your space for the new year? Fairfax County launched a new program that lets you discard unwanted books to keep them out of landfills.
In partnership with New Legacy Books, the Fairfax County Solid Waste Management Program placed green donation bins at the I-66 Transfer Station in Fairfax. You can drop hardcovers, paperbacks, and textbooks in the bins — just no encyclopedias or magazines. They must have an ISBN barcode and cannot have water damage.
New Legacy Books will then resell most of the books, with a portion of proceeds supporting the county’s recycling services. Those of lower value will go to wholesale book companies for resale. Books that cannot be resold will be recycled.
New Legacy Books also has several donation locations throughout Virginia. Many of these are in partnership with organizations like churches, VFW posts, and fire departments.
Also at the Transfer Station are bins for clothing and textile donations. The pilot program partners with Helpsy to repurpose clothes, towels, bed linens, luggage, and shoes.
And it’s OK if items have stains or damage. Helpsy will sort the items and send them to “their next best possible use: resale, donation, upcycling, or recycling.” You can find drop-off locations at the I-66 Transfer Station and the I-95 Landfill Complex in Lorton.
Feature image courtesy Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services
