San Mateo County Facilities The recycling program for county employees Hard Cover Books Hard cover books are not as easily recycled as their soft-cover relatives. While soft-cover books can be placed in the mixed paper recycling, hard cover books cannot because of the stiff covers and glue used in the binding. The ideal way to dispose of hard cover books is to reuse them - donate them to your local public library or another charity. Download the Reuse Guide (PDF) for a list of places that accept book donations. If the books are simply unusable, there are a couple of options for recycling:

Small Quantities: If you have less than a banker box of books, you can send them via PONY mail to Attn: Bill Lulay, LIB 304.

Large Quantities: Bring hard cover books to Enterprise Recycling. There is no charge for drop offs.

Enterprise Recycling
2666 Bay Road
Redwood City, CA 94063
650-364-3333

County Libraries

Libraries within the Peninsula Library System should recycle discards that are not otherwise reused. Bring them to the Central Library at 25 Tower Road in San Mateo. The Central Library staff will collect hard-cover book discards and send them to Sierra Pacific Recycling periodically.

When recycling quantities of hard cover books, contact us and let us know how much you recycled. We try to keep track of the amount of waste the County diverts from the landfill - your contribution helps!