With Spring around the corner, the Hudson County Improvement Authority is gearing up for our 2017 Mobile Shredding Days being held at locations throughout Hudson County. These Shredding Days allow residents the ability to safely dispose of their personal documents- for FREE!
Why should you shred your personal documents? For one, it makes some pretty cool ticker tape-like shreddings. But in all seriousness, shredding not only helps residents to protect their identity, but it also has numerous environmental benefits. Identity theft tops the Federal Trade Commission’s national ranking of consumer complaints with approximately 15 million Americans affected annually.
Across the country, companies and individual people have fallen victim to identity theft and scams and the result of a loss of information on personal documents falling into the wrong hands. Whether you are cleaning out old tax returns from your attic or disposing of last months’ bank statements, these documents should never wind up in your garbage can – or even in your recycling bin -- but should instead be shredded.
Documents that should be shredded include tax documents (more than 7 years old); investment statements, bank statements, canceled checks and paystubs. Consumer advocates recommend that documents such as ATM receipts, credit card statements, utility bills and insurance policies should be kept for two years, but once that time is up, they should be shredded. However, if you can access any of these documents online, they should be shredded now. Mobile shredding will provide you with the peace of mind that your sensitive information has been destroyed properly. The HCIA ensures that documents are commercially shredded safely, privately, and properly by trained, licensed and bonded document destruction specialists.
Why shred your documents to help the environment? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that in the United States over 250 million tons of waste or just under 5 pounds of paper-related garbage is produced daily by each individual. Fortunately, once documents are shredded, the paper material produced is then recycled which yields enormous environmental benefits. Shred paper can be produced into many different consumer goods, including paper plates and paper towels. One ton of recycled paper save 7,000 gallons of water; 4,100 kilowatts of electricity; 60 pounds of air pollutants; 17 trees; 3 cubic yards of landfill; and 7,712 gallons of oil!
For a further environmental benefit, mobile shredding trucks are specially manufactured to treat the exhaust generated while using a diesel particulate filter. These filters trap the grime produced by the exhaust gas which reduces pollutants and then releases the filtered gas.
Before you arrive at any of the HCIA’s Mobile Shredding Events, 9 am to 1 pm- Rain or Shine, please remove any large binder clips and please make sure they are not in plastic binders. You don’t have to worry about removing staples or paper clips and you can bring the documents in any type of container that is easiest for you to carry. Residents are asked to limit your documents to no more than 40 pounds in an effort to accommodate all residents wishing to participate. Please bring a form of identification to verify your residency. Residents are invited to stay and watch the shredding process if you wish.
Please note that the HCIA’s Mobile Shredding Days are for individuals only, not businesses. We are looking forward to seeing you there!
