Recycle to Read Textiles

Recycle to Read is a campaign designed to give schools and communities an opportunity to recycle to get new books to support children’s literacy.

The programme is collecting items not typically collected from households for recycling, such as toys, textiles, and batteries, through school and retail collections. Participating schools are rewarded with vouchers to buy a fantastic discounted range of fiction and non-fiction books suitable for early years through to 11-year-olds, from the Harper Collins Recycle to Read book catalogue.

Battery collections: Schools in mainland England (including the Isle of Wight) Wales and Scotland registered with the Pod can take part.

Textile only collections: Schools in mainland England (including the Isle of Wight) Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland registered with the Pod can take part. Currently, schools in Northern Ireland can participate in textiles collections only.

All schools registered with the Pod can access the Recycle to Read education resources.

No. It is free for schools to take part in Recycle to Read.

Register for a free account for your school with the Pod (if your school is not already registered). Login and sign up to the Recycle to Read campaign of your choice.
Currently you can choose from:

1. Recycle to Read Textiles to hold a collection day for unwanted textiles to earn £200 per tonne (20p per kilo) in book rewards.
2. Recycle to Read Batteries to receive a battery box and campaign pack to earn £30 per full box of batteries emptied (if your school is one of the first 100 schools to book a collection*). Schools signed up for the battery collections are also entered into a prize draw to win a £100 book voucher code. 

*Terms and conditions apply

After signing up to any campaign, you will receive an email containing everything you need to take part including a range of resources to ensure you have everything you need to hold a successful collection. These can also be accessed via the Recycle to Read campaign pages when you are logged in. You may also be sent a printed pack depending on the type of collection you have registered for. See the Campaign Guides for details.

• The Recycle to Read Batteries Campaign Guide
• The Recycle to Read Textiles Campaign Guide

See the following campaign guides for details

• The Recycle to Read Batteries Campaign Guide
• The Recycle to Read Textiles Campaign Guide

You will be provided with a campaign guide, assembly presentation, and parent mail plus a range of other helpful resources, depending on the type of collection you have opted for, to help ensure your collections are a success.

A wide range of additional topic-based education resources to support whole school, class or eco-team engagement are also available for download from our resource library. You may also be sent a printed pack depending on the type of collection you have registered for. See the campaign guides for details.

Yes. All books in the Harper Collins Recycle to Read catalogue offer exclusive discounts for schools registered to Recycle to Read who have vouchers.

The Recycle to Read catalogue contains a wide range of fiction and non-fiction book titles suitable for early years up to 11 years (catering for nursery, primary and junior schools).

Schools eligible to participate in Recycle to Read collections the academic years 2023-24 and 2024-25 can get book voucher codes. Book voucher codes can be used as discount vouchers or credit vouchers to purchase discounted books from the Recycle to Read book catalogue managed by Harper Collins.

The amount schools can earn for recycling 2024-25:

• Textile recycling: £200 worth of book vouchers per tonne (20p per kilo)
• Battery recycling: £30 worth of book vouchers (for the first 100 schools returning a full battery box in the academic year 2023-24). Schools signed up for the battery collections are also entered into a free prize draw to win a £100 book voucher code.

See the campaign guides for details.

If your school has had a Recycle to Read collection, you will receive an email containing your collection results and book voucher codes earned (if any) within 25 working days of the collection.

Schools eligible to participate in Recycle to Read collections this academic year 2023-24 can get book voucher codes. Book voucher codes can be used as discount vouchers or credit vouchers to purchase discounted books from the Recycle to Read catalogue managed by Harper Collins. The Recycle to Read catalogue contains a wide range of fiction and non-fiction book titles suitable for early years up to 11 years (catering for nursery, primary and junior schools).

Voucher codes are issued in increments of £5 (£5,10,15,20,25 etc.) up to £100 after which codes are issued in multiples of £100 (£100,200,300 etc.). The minimum voucher value is £5. An additional £2.95 is deducted per voucher issued to cover P&P for each order placed using a book voucher. For example, if a school has earned 12,500 Recycling Reward Points (£125) a minimum of 2 vouchers would be issued and 2x £2.95 removed (£5.90) leaving a total of £119.10. This will be rounded down to the nearest £5 (£115), Therefore, a £100 voucher and a £15 voucher will be issued. 

Only one book voucher code can be used in each book order transaction. 

If the cost of the book(s) in your basket is greater than the value of the book voucher code, it is possible to use other payment methods to cover the remaining cost. Discounts are applied to the total order value of discounted books. It is only possible to redeem book voucher codes once.

It is worthwhile using the entire value of your book voucher as no change/ or equivalent can be given for any unspent book voucher code value. If the book voucher code value is higher than the cost of the item(s) in the transaction, the remaining book voucher code value will be lost.

Book voucher codes issued by Recycle to Read during the school year 2024/25, expire July 2026 unless a different date is provided at the time of issue or through notification (with a minimum of 30-day's notice).

Go to the book ranges on www.Collins.co.uk/recycletoread and select the items you would like to buy and follow the onscreen instructions to complete your purchase. You will be given an opportunity to enter your book voucher code as a discount code.

Unfortunately we cannot provide new voucher codes for those that have been lost or be held responsible for refunding the value of book voucher codes that have been redeemed without school consent. Please see our terms and conditions.

If you have registered for Recycle to Read Textiles you can request a textiles collection by emailing collections@wastebuster.co.uk your school’s name, address, contact name, contact email and telephone number and use the words ‘Textiles Collection’ in the subject area.

All items should be clean and wearable (or reusable) and in general good condition.

Recycle to Read textiles collections CAN accept:

Wearable Clothing
Paired Shoes
Handbags
Belts
Duvet Covers
Pillowcases

Recycle to Read textiles collections CANNOT accept:

Workwear
Uniforms (including school uniforms)
Wet/Soiled Items
Duvets
Pillows
Blankets
Table Cloths
Linens
Cushions
Carpets

When your school signs up for Recycle to Read Batteries your details will automatically be forwarded to our battery collections partner to get your battery collection box delivered.

When your box is full, please follow the instructions printed on the box and book via our battery collector by calling 0161 989 9636 or by emailing valpak@pbrl.co.uk with your school details stating you are collecting for Recycle to Read. Once booked you will receive a collection within 10 working days.

Collections are made from the main school reception during school opening hours without advanced notice* – so please make your box available for collection once booked. On your collection day, you will receive a collection receipt, and your box will be emptied ready to receive more batteries – please do not tape/ seal your box.

If you have any collection queries, please call ‘Portable Battery Recycling’ on 0161 989 9636 or email valpak@pbrl.co.uk, who are collecting on the behalf of our battery collection partner Valpak (https://www.valpak.co.uk/).

*Having no advanced notice allows our collector (Portable Battery Recycling) to reduce environmental impact by coordinating collections daily, lowering transport miles.

 Recycle to Read battery collections CAN accept:

AAA, AA, C, D, 9V and 6V Batteries
Mobile Phone Batteries
Laptop Batteries
Power Tool Batteries

All lithium (Li) and button batteries should have sticky or masking tape covering their connectors. Button batteries can be placed in a line between two sections of sticky tape.

Recycle to Read battery collections CANNOT accept:

Damaged or leaking batteries
Car Batteries
Industrial Batteries
Batteries with connecting wires (unless taped to the side of the battery)

We recommend undertaking a risk assessment before undertaking any collections activity to ensure it is compliant with your schools H&S protocol. Although risks associated with hosting household battery collection points are considered to be low, it is advised that all battery collection points inform their insurers of the collection system, providing risk assessments. Further guidance on safe collection and storage can be found here: Valpak Battery Collections Guide. Guidance on child health and safety considerations can be found here: Valpak Child Health and Safety Guide.

Batteries collected through Recycle to Read with our partner Valpak (https://www.valpak.co.uk/), are taken to a sorting facility that separates the different types/chemistries of batteries, ready to be sent to specialist refineries in the UK or Europe (there is limited battery refinery capacity in the UK).

Refineries then break down, sort and smelt/refine the different battery components, so that the valuable and rare resources in batteries can be recovered and reused to make new batteries and electronics, and ensure any hazardous waste is disposed of safely.

The battery recycling process video can be viewed here: https://jointhepod.org/teachers/films/r2r-battery-process.  

Batteries can cause serious injury or death if swallowed, please keep batteries out of the reach of small children and pets.

Batteries incorrectly disposed of can lead to the release of damaging chemicals to land, water and air. They can corrode in the environment - leaching dangerous metals and chemicals, and when burnt in energy from waste plants release toxic gasses and ash. Some batteries such as lithium-ion (Li) batteries may even cause fires or explode when damaged.

Further guidance on safe collection and storage can be found here: Valpak Battery Collections Guide. Guidance on child health and safety considerations can be found here: Valpak Child Health and Safety Guide.

Textiles are sorted in the UK by our partners, to ensure that only suitable items are sent for reuse in the UK and around the world to get the best use and value from them and preventing wastage.

Textiles that are not suitable for reused are sent for recycling in the UK, either to be cut up to make industrial wiping cloths or sent for ‘flocking’ where they are broken down and their fibres used as stuffing or even reweaved into new materials.

A small percentage (~3% on average) are currently unrecyclable and are sent for waste to energy treatment.

Recycle to Read work with Nathans Waste Savers to process any textiles collected through the programme for reuse and recycling. Further information on both companies can be found here:

• Textiles (mainland UK (excluding schools based within the London low emission zone and including Isle of Wight), Scotland and NIR): Nathans Wastesavers (https://www.nathanswastesavers.co.uk/)

Only Pod schools, can sign up to take part in Recycle to Read Toys. If you’re not already a Pod school, you can register here. 

This depends on the toy you have. It is worth searching online for fixes for specific problems. Some communities also have doll hospitals and local shops that can help with a range of different fixes. Try your local Repair Café – the Repair Café website might help you find your nearest repair café. There are lots of guides on the internet on how to fix different types of toys, such as the Fixit Club.