How would you dispose of a religious book?
By Morgan
@OneOfMany (12150)
United States
February 16, 2016 8:38pm CST
I had a job of clearing out a house that was really saturated with cat urine and black mold and other things many years ago that was unclean. There were many books to go and we didn't have a dumpster and were well removed from civilization. So we started a burn pile for all the trash and put other things to the side. I saved a really awesome rocking chair that I still have, and some other furniture.
Nobody was sure what the proper disposal was for the bibles and other texts. The other workers left it to me because they were unwilling to do anything themselves. What would you have done?
8 people like this
10 responses
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
17 Feb 16
I would say donate BUT, since there was black mold, those books prob need to be destroyed, so I would burn them
2 people like this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
17 Feb 16
Another comment for the burn category. I guess more people burn bibles than I thought.
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
19 Feb 16
@OneOfMany it's not even the book here, it's the mold. black mold and certain other molds are VERY bad for you, I am not sure that a book is safe to be near and handle, or breath near once it is contaminated.
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@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
19 Feb 16
@Jessicalynnt Well I didn't see any black mold on those books themselves, since they weren't in the same room, but who knows if they picked up the spores.
1 person likes this
@JESSY3236 (22244)
• United States
17 Feb 16
I would have either gave them to church, or a library. Or even to Kidney Foundation.
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@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
17 Feb 16
I wouldn't even know where to find a Kidney foundation off the top of my head!
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@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
18 Feb 16
@JESSY3236 Well I'll keep that in mind. It wasn't applicable back then to the situation.
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@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
20 Feb 16
if the books were still in good condition I'd donate them to charity - if they are ruined anyway just destroy them.
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@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
21 Feb 16
@OneOfMany donate the to a local church if need be
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@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
21 Feb 16
Finding a charity in the middle of nowhere isn't something I'm aware of how to do.
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@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
21 Feb 16
@arthurchappell Okay. Assuming you get the right church.
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@Shavkat (141905)
• Philippines
17 Feb 16
@OneOfMany I guess that would be a great option. Thus there is no difference. We still got rid of it.
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@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
17 Feb 16
@Shavkat Well it wasn't personal, it was part of the job at the time.
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
17 Feb 16
The common agreement in the comments is that burning is fine.
@LadyDuck (502636)
• Italy
17 Feb 16
@OneOfMany You can leave the books on a pew and run away.
2 people like this
@Poppylicious (11134)
• United Kingdom
17 Feb 16
If they were covered in cat urine and mould then obviously they can be thrown away or burnt. If not, I probably would have given them to a charity shop, but that's what I would do for all books, regardless of content.
1 person likes this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
17 Feb 16
They were readable without a smell, but I wasn't about to load up my car and drive around looking for a solution.
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
17 Feb 16
@Poppylicious Yes. Pretty much. I had a great view of the valley and beyond. I was happy that there were no rattlesnakes where I was working because apparently the valley was full of them.
@Poppylicious (11134)
• United Kingdom
17 Feb 16
@OneOfMany It's probably easier if you're not in the middle of nowhere!
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23670)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
17 Feb 16
If it wasn't salvageable I would burn it.
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@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
17 Feb 16
Seems burning was the right course of action. Although they might have been salvageable. I don't really remember.
@TypicalRussian (747)
• Budennovsk, Russian Federation
17 Feb 16
some people here just keep them for ages somewhere in a shed until they convert into dust.
@brokenbee (11937)
• Philippines
17 Feb 16
Our priest told us before that if we couldn't dispose these religious articles like books and other old statues of saints, we could bring them to the church convent and they will be the ones who will properly dispose them off.
1 person likes this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
17 Feb 16
I read that as well, and people asked why I didn't donate them or something. That's why I made clear that I was pretty removed from civilization. It's not worth my time to transport such things.
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@Mike197602 (15504)
• United Kingdom
17 Feb 16
I'd have burnt them same as any rubbish.
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@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
17 Feb 16
Good to know. I wanted to approach it delicately, but I did throw them on the pile along with everything else.
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