(CNN) A bookseller in southern Italy is offering free books to schoolchildren who bring him one plastic bottle and one aluminum can to recycle.

Michele Gentile, who founded the Ex Libris Cafe bookshop in Polla, a small town near Salerno, told CNN he wants to encourage kids to read while doing something for the environment.

"My goal is to spread the passion and love for books among those people in Italy who do not usually read while at the time helping the environment," he said. "I hope the initiative becomes so viral that it affects the whole country."

"It will be revolutionary, not only for the planet but also for the education of children and their job prospects," he said.

E se accadesse in ogni città..... forse il Pianeta ringrazierà!#NonRifiutiamoci https://t.co/6G8PgnXb9a pic.twitter.com/jUVGjnpje3 — UN LIBRO Sospeso (@michelegentile7) February 13, 2019

The books being donated for the initiative are the so-called "pending" or "suspended" books ("libri sospesi" in Italian), a concept introduced by Gentile a few years ago that earned him headlines in national media.

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