Causecast

by CLAIRE DALTON, Contributing Writer

New York City. It’s expensive. The streets aren’t the cleanest and the subway is a necessary evil. There’s great food and better fashion. And there’s enough culture and diversity to last a lifetime.

Ok, so maybe that isn’t the most thorough description of NYC, but a great project just came out of the city that couldn’t better leverage city living. The project is called Choose What You Read NY and it seems to be the love child sprung from the unlikely pairing of sustainability activists and Cracker Barrel.

In an effort to get subway riders to escape the waste of daily papers (and the onslaught of digital content), CWYRNY is setting up free book exchange sites at subway stations. It’s a completely free service run by volunteers, who collect donated books and set up distribution sites on the first Tuesday of the month at most major subway stations.

I love this for a number of reasons. Not only does it encourage reading in an era of 2×3 video screens in our pockets, but it discourages waste in so many ways. Convenient drop box locations allow residents to drop off old books they’d otherwise throw away. These books are then read by commuters who can unplug and conserve the energy we charge into our Blackberries, Kindles, and iPods. Further, it limits the number of free daily papers that later end up strewn across subway stations and in the street and eliminates unnecessary waste for recycling (or, sigh, garbage) centers. On top of it all, it encourages the forgotten pleasure of reading. The project is built completely upon the goodwill of volunteers, donations, and the desire to share…what’s not to love?

It will be interesting to see if the project expands to other major cities, and how it can evolve to accommodate and enrich other, smaller communities. Think your local coffee chain would want to initiate a similar exchange? Just ask! It could be a great way to get involved in your community and create great volunteer opportunities for its members. Want to further support literacy and education? Consider donating your old books (and textbooks!) to local schools. And if you’re looking to limit your waste but just can’t give up the feeling of holding your magazine and sticking it in your bag, give it to local businesses like hair salons and dentists so that it’ll be one less magazine the company has to print. Think about what you can do in your community and let us know in the comments or your blog what you’ve done in your home town!

Photo by TheeErin, Flickr