If you are shredding large amounts of paper, get the best shredder that you can afford. Low priced shredders tend to only allow you to shred one or two documents at a time, feeding them in slowly by hand. If you have a lot of paper to shred, this could take a very long time. If you are shredding documents with highly private or sensitive information, don’t opt for the cheapest shredder solution. A mid-priced home or office shredder is your best bet. This is because the cheaper the shredder, the less effective the shredding mechanism actually is. It may shred in fairly large strips; you’d want to get something higher quality to destroy your sensitive documents.
Do a quick Google search for your local document destruction agencies – in most cities, you’ll have multiple options and a range of prices and services. Choose what suits your situation best. In many cases, document disposal agencies will come to you and shred on-site. This is an especially popular choice for small businesses and those in a corporate setting. If you are disposing of paper on a regular basis, document destruction agencies offer regularly scheduled services. Most of these companies will provide you with a Certificate of Destruction after each service, providing you with even more peace of mind. If privacy protection is your main motivation for disposing of paper, don’t forget to consider any old hard drives you might have in your home or office. Many of these companies also offer destruction services for a variety of media.
Check the volume your shredder can handle. Smaller machines can only shred around 5 documents at one time. Bigger machines can handle a lot more. Be sure not to exceed your machine’s shredding capacity. Also check your machine’s manual for items that shouldn’t be shredded. Some of the smaller home machines will jam if you try to shred an envelope with a plastic window. Other machines can easily shred plastic windows, staples, paper clips and even credit cards. [3] X Trustworthy Source Consumer Reports Nonprofit organization dedicated to consumer advocacy and product testing Go to source If you do exceed capacity or shred the wrong item and end up with a paper jam, all standard machines are equipped with a reverse mode that allows you to remove the jam easily. After you are finished with your shredding, don’t forget to turn the machine off. Leaving it on for excessive amounts of time can overheat its motor. Shredders need to be oiled on a regular basis to keep them working optimally. [4] X Trustworthy Source Consumer Reports Nonprofit organization dedicated to consumer advocacy and product testing Go to source Many machines provide a small bottle of this when you purchase it. If yours didn’t, you can easily pick this up at any office supply store. To oil the machine, drizzle a small amount of the lubricant through the machine’s feed opening and run your shredder in reverse mode for about 60 seconds. Then switch it back to normal mode and pass a few papers through to absorb any excess oil.
Tear the paper into six to eight vertical strips. Then take those strips and tear them into pieces no larger than one inch. Anything larger will be a security risk. After you complete your task, store the paper in a bag somewhere safe, such as a locked closet or office, until you can recycle it.
If you have one on hand, you can burn the paper in a metal barrel. If you have a home with a yard, you can burn your documents by digging a hole in the ground. If you choose this method, be sure to take precautionary fire measures. If you have a lot of documents, then a bonfire will work well. If you have a manageable stack, then use your barbecue grill. You can also purchase items which compact shredded paper into fire logs.
Choose a non-windy day to burn outside. Always stay with a fire while it’s in progress. Never walk away from it. Don’t burn paper that has plastic coating, magazines, colored paper, wrapping paper, or newspaper inserts. The ink used to print these materials contain metals that give off toxic fumes when burned. [6] X Research source It is safe to burn documents on plain, uncoated printer paper, junk mail, envelopes (without plastic windows), and plain newspapers (with inserts removed). Allow the burn location to cool completely before doing anything additionally.
Most ink is non-toxic these days, so don’t worry about that. [8] X Research source The types of paper you should avoid using in your compost are: glossy/waxy paper, magazine paper, fluorescent colored papers, paper with metallic inks and colored construction paper.
If your compost heap contains kitchen scraps and yard trimmings, the shredded paper helps to bulk up the volume of soil. This means that once the composting process is complete, you will end up with more finished compost to go around. Paper is almost completely carbon. A healthy compost thrives on a ratio of 25 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen, so using shredded paper in your compost heap provides an excellent source of the carbon needed for a successful composting process. Since a lot of paper equates to a lot of carbon, be sure to balance it with plenty of nitrogen (green stuff) and keep the compost damp. Shredded paper may be used as bedding for worm composting, as well, if it’s not glossy. Be sure to keep it moist.
Google search “your city + recycling” to see where you can take your paper. This is the best option if you have a large amount to recycle. Most cities offer residential recycling collection, since recycling is so popular. This is the best option if you have a small amount of paper to recycle. Be sure to follow carefully all sorting requirements.
