On Friday, July 25th, hundreds came to Park Lot to participate in the fourth annual Shred Fest – University Facilities and Services’ secure paper shredding event. Shred Fest offers all University employees and students the opportunity to get rid of the extraneous paper that inevitably lies around, cluttering our personal files. Throughout the day, everything from bank statements to medical records to tax returns and much more was collected.
Participants of the event were very pleased to have a place to securely destroy their personal documents in an environmentally responsible way. Patty Bardeen, from the Environmental Health and Safety department, came by for the fourth year in a row. “This is great,” Bardeen said while unloading her car. “Thank you! I’m looking forward to next year.”
Rosemarie Eskes, from the International Student Office, was also very pleased with the event. She took the time to go through 30 years’ worth of paper, all of which she “didn’t need.”
With privacy and identification fraud so prevalent, Shred Fest offers a convenient way for members of the University community to keep their information safe. The University pairs with Iron Mountain, a company that specializes in secure document shredding. At the event, volunteers help to unload cars filled with boxes and bags of paper. Documents are then placed in locked containers and shredded on-site with Iron Mountain’s mobile shred truck. Customers can even witness their papers get shredded through a video camera that is installed inside the truck. All of the paper that is collected by Iron Mountain is then recycled.
Each year since the event first began in 2011, there has been an increase in the amount of material collected. This year was the Shred Fest’s most successful event yet in its four year history. While last year 114 containers were filled with paper, this year 137 containers were filled altogether. This accounts for approximately 17,000 pounds (8.5 tons) of paper, which outweighs a full-grown male African elephant by one ton! Although the event ended earlier this year than it has in the past, the shorter time frame did not hinder the amount of material collected. The morning hours are typically the busiest time for the University’s collection events as employees prefer to stop in before they start their day at work. By 10:00 a.m. 89 containers were collected, and by noon the total was up to 100 containers.
The University’s recycling coordinator Amy Kadrie looks forward to this event every year because “it is so rewarding to see such happy customers who are so grateful for the service we provide.” Kadrie would like to thank the many volunteers who helped throughout the day from various departments including University Mail Services, Horticulture and Grounds, and the Facilities Customer Service Center, Iron Mountain for their continued support, and everyone who brought paper making the event successful.
If you missed this years’ event, don’t worry, start collecting your paper now and we will see you all again next summer!
Written by Lauren Henry, Class of 2014
Shred festival helps us to protect our identity by document destruction. They clean up our clutter and properly dispose of old tax and other sensitive financial documents. Document destruction or paper shredding is most important for keep secure our confidential and secret information.