PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A local bookstore is saving books from ending up in the landfill.
"We want it to be a place where the community can come and be a part of the magic of books," said George Brooks.
It's not a place for new books. It's a last resort stop before they end up in the trash.
"Books should never end up there...the reason everyone throws them into the landfill is because you can't just recycle books. You actually have to cut off the spine and remove the glue and the hardcover," said Brooks.
The shop is called The Book Rescuers, located at 8325 Ulmerton Road in Largo.
"We rescue and re-home books, media, CDs, DVDs, vinyl, all of that affordable to the community," said Brooks.
It started during the pandemic when George and Sarah Brooks learned how many books were thrown out.
"To be able to put a dent in the hundred tons weekly plus that end up in the landfill of just books," said Brooks.
But lately their shop is getting more donations than ever before.
"Definitely a lot of people who lost books and are looking for books, but theres also been a large increase in donations," said Sarah Brooks.
They said since hurricanes Helene and Milton, many books need to be rescued.
"A lot of people are having to be displaced for a long period of time or having to downsize and we have seen a lot of those donations come in," said George Brooks.
Both George and Sarah Brooks recently started a permanent location for their shop in Largo and are welcoming any donations from the community.
"We know that books are magical, but one thing we found here is that the thing that is more magical than books are the readers of those books," said George Brooks.
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