Patsy, you're so right. When I was teaching, the schools used to chuck away at the end of the year any exercise books which had been written in, even if only on a couple of pages. My thrifty mother would have turned in her grave, so I always got the children to pull out the unsullied pages and put them in the cupboard for tests and quizzes etc. Also, pencils were ditched if less than about six inches long! The African children I've met would have beamed with delight to receive these paltry things. I'd even give away half-empty toothpaste tubes, shampoo, my house sandals, anything I didn't particularly need, when I flew home. We are so, so lucky aren't we?