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 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: Recycle/LIB 304

Large Quantities
Sierra Pacific Recycling
501 Bragato Road
San Carlos, CA
(650) 364-3333
There is no charge for drop offs. May be able to provide pick up service.

If your office is cleaning out a large supply of hard cover books, contact RecycleWorks to order a hard cover book recycling bin.

County Libraries

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

When recycling large 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 and - your contribution helps!