Dumpsters full of books seen outside Schurz High School on Northwest Side

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two dumpsters full of books were found outside a Chicago Public Schools high school on the city's Northwest Side Friday.

Paperbacks and textbooks were piled up outside Carl Schurz High School, at 3601 N. Milwaukee Ave. in the Irving Park neighborhood.

Various biology and chemistry textbooks and lab notebooks, a copy of "Mawi Asgedom's "Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy's Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard," and multiple copies of Peter Mayle's 1991 national bestseller "A Year in Provence" were among the books visible in a massive dumpster.

CBS News Chicago reached out to the Chicago Public Schools, which said the disposal of the books is part of "the regular weeding process."

The books are old, outdated, and no longer needed, and thus have been thrown away, CPS said.

CPS said a statement would be issued on Monday, and could not explain why the books could not be donated.

In 2022, some were also alarmed when hundreds of books were seen in dumpsters at Lake View High School, 4015 N. Ashland Ave.—including a copy each of August Wilson's "Fences," Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire," and Arthur Miller's "The Crucible." On that occasion, the principal of Lake View High also said the disposal of the books was an example of weeding—which he said ensures the school removes materials in poor condition or containing inaccurate or dated information.

In the Lake View High School instance, however, one parent said she found important documents in the dumpster containing personal information that should have been shredded.