After a wonderful Summer, you may be getting your home ready for colder weather. Whether you have boxes of old tax returns and cancelled checks clogging up your attic or use motor oil and tires taking up space in your garage, the HCIA has upcoming events planned in order to help you remove of these items safely.
HCIA Shredding Days
This Fall, the Hudson County Improvement Authority will be offering Mobile Shredding Days which will be held on multiple weekends at locations across the County. With identity theft topping the Federal Trade Commission’s national ranking of consumer complaints with over 15 million Americans being affected every year, including companies and individuals. Personal documents should never be disposed of in the regular garbage cans or recycling bin, but instead should be shredded.
With the personal protection of Hudson County residents and the environment in mind, the HCIA provides these free events which are held from 9 am to 2 pm, rain or shine. Visit the HCIA Mobile Shredding Events Page for the schedule of Fall 2019 Shredding Days.
Prior to heading to a Mobile Shredding Event, please remove documents from plastic binders and also remove large binder clips from these documents. Staples do not need to be removed from documents and documents can be brought to any type of container which is easiest for you to carry. Please limit the use of plastic bags which can get caught up in the shredding machine. Also, please limit documents to no more than 40 pounds in an effort to accommodate other residents who wish to participate. The HCIA also requests that residents bring a valid form of identification in order to verify Hudson County residency. If you wish, you can even watch the shredding of your personal documents.
What Can You Bring?
Consumer advocates recommend that documents such as tax documents (those older the 7 years), bank statements, investment statements, paystubs and canceled checks be shredded to protect your own safety. Other statements including credit card statements, ATM receipts, utility bills and insurance policies should be kept for a two-year period and then properly shredded. However, if you can access these documents electronically, paper copies can be shredded now. Mobile shredding will provide residents with the peace of mind that their sensitive, personal information has been properly destroyed. The HCIA ensures that documents are commercially shredded safely and privately by a trained, licensed and bonded document destruction specialist.
Just Shred It- the Earth Will Thank You Too!
According to estimates by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), over 250 million tons of paper are produced daily across the country. However, once paper is shredded, the paper material can then be recycled into several different consumer goods including paper plates and paper towels. Think of this, 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. Impressive, huh?
To make it even better, mobile shredding trucks are manufactured to treat exhaust through a diesel particulate filter which traps the grime produced by the exhaust gas in order to reduce pollutants prior to releasing the filtered gas. Thank you for shredding!
