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Books in a library

Rovaniemi City Library will reduce its use of plastic

Rovaniemi City Library will reduce its use of plastic

New books will be ordered without plastic covers

In recent years, there have been heated discussions surrounding the use of plastic and its impact on the environment. Now, it is well known that the plastic waste and micro-plastics that end up in nature present a global problem. As such, businesses and cities worldwide are working hard to reduce their use of this harmful material.

Removing plastic from book covers

In honour of the United Nations’ World Environment Day on 5 June, the Rovaniemi City Library in Finland will begin to reduce its use of plastic. More specifically, it will work towards cutting its use of plastic by removing the material from book covers. Taking this further, the head of the library’s environmental working group Kimmo Korteniemi explained: “We have decided to move to a mode of operation in which a significant part of new books are ordered without plastic.”

It must be noted that several libraries in Finland have already ditched plastic book covers and replaced them with more sustainable materials. Although the City Library in Rovaniemi acknowledges this, it reports that it will use 2021 as a trial period before deciding whether to permanently ban its use of plastic.

Rovaniemi’s City Library explains its reasons for not permanently banning the material, claiming that it seeks to see whether uncoated books will wear out faster and if plastic truly prolongs their life significantly. Moreover, the library will consult customers and ask them for their feedback before deciding whether or not to make its decision permanent after the end of the year.

According to the aforementioned press release, the library will also mark World Environment Day in several other ways. That is, it will hold an environment-themed exhibition on 5 June and its employees will discuss literature and the environment on 8 June.

“This is one example of libraries' environmental work. Libraries want to show by their own example that environmental responsibility and sustainable development are important values,” Korteniemi highlighted.

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