On Friday July 20, University Facilities and Services sponsored its eighth annual Shred Fest event, where employees and students alike were able to securely shred personal documents. This was done with the aid of Iron Mountain, the same company trusted by the University of Rochester to securely recycle its own confidential records.
Why is an event like this important? Concerned individuals often opt to dispose of their personal documents directly into the trash in order to protect their privacy and minimize the risk of identity theft. Unfortunately, this results in the disposal of large quantities of paper in landfills that could have been recycled.
Shred Fest offers a convenient way to keep your information secure while being environmentally friendly. Volunteers were on standby throughout the event to help unload the boxes, bags, and bins of paper out of vehicles. Documents were placed in locked containers and shredded on-site in Iron Mountain‘s mobile shred truck in order to prevent documents from falling into the wrong hands. There was even a live camera placed inside the truck which provides concerned participants the opportunity to witness their documents being shredded.
This year’s event was our largest to date – by 9:45 a.m. we already had shredded 10,380 pounds of paper. The total paper document collection came to a weight of 24,880 pounds, or about 12.4 tons! This beat our previous record set in 2013 by nearly half a ton.
If you missed out on this year’s event, there is no need to worry. It is because of the overwhelming popularity and success of the Shred Fest that we have received from the University of Rochester community that we are able to continue hosting the event. One excited event-goer said she had been “collecting paper in [her] basement all year” in preparation for the event! According to Sustainability Coordinator Amy Kadrie who organizes this event each year, “The positive feedback we receive from participants each year is always encouraging and is a good reminder of why we continue to do this. I hear countless people tell me ‘I LOVE this event’ with such enthusiasm as they hand off their documents. They trust us and appreciate the convenience of this event. It’s such a great feeling to provide that kind of service!”
While you wait for next year’s event, you can start keeping track of unwanted personal documents as you receive them. Those interested in getting rid of their documents who do not want to wait until the next Shred Fest should also be aware of EcoPark, a facility open to all Monroe County residents which hanldes many different materials including documents for shredding. More details are available on the EcoPark website.
Thank you to all of our volunteers: Sherin George (Support Operations), Teddi Shapiro (Support Operations), Kelly Jean (Support Operations), Jefvern White (Support Operations), Axel Colon (Materials Management), Jon Marini (Mail Services) and Macayla (Horticulture and Grounds). Also thanks to our shred truck operator Patrick Hamilton, Iron Mountain for their partnership, and those who participated in Shred Fest, for helping to make our event so successful.
To see more pictures of the eighth annual Shred Fest, visit our Facebook album. Don’t forget to “like” UR Sustainable on Facebook to receive regular updates.
Written by Teddi Shapiro, Class of 2019