It is amazing what people throw away into trash cans, although in some countries, throwing things away only means that the owner wants to get rid of those things quickly and easily. Recycling starts from the trash can. In Ankara, Turkey, municipal garbage collectors realized that all the books thrown away could make up a library. So they created one.

The sanitation workers in the Çankaya district of Ankara started collecting books they rescued from trash bins and shared them with their colleagues. It proved to be popular, and as the collection increased, the city decided to sponsor facilities for the initiative.

A library made up of books discovered from trash was established in an empty brick factory building in September 2017. The collection quickly grew to 6000 books, and more titles are coming all the time because residents are bringing their old books into the library as well.

“Before, I wished that I had a library in my house. Now we have a library here and it’s good. I want to read all the books,” 32 year-old sanitation worker Serhat Baytemur said.

The library has hired a full time librarian to manage the operation. As the word has spread in Ankara, schools and educational programs request books from the library as well.

Every new book is checked before it is added to the library. Books have to be clean, and all the pages in them have to be intact.

A video report by TRT World shows the library and the men behind the initiative.

Via Daily Sabah.