Free Shredding Event on Saturday

Got some sensitive documents you’d like to dispose of?

Well, you'll be in luck come Saturday, when the Eighth Utilities District holds its 4th Annual Shred Fest. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the parking lot of the Eighth Utilities Tax Office at 18 Main St.

The event is sponsored by the Eighth Utilities District and will be assisted by the Manchester Police Explorers Post 077.

Shred Fest is open to all Manchester residents, property owners, businesses and town employees.  There is a limit of two large boxes (approximate size of boxes: 18 gallons) or two heavy-duty trash bags per car. The Police Explorers will provide assistance carrying containers to the shredder.

All types of paper (including staples, envelopes and paper clips) will be accepted. Documents will be shredded on site in a large box truck provided by Shred-It Connecticut, a Cheshire-based company whose website says it is “Connecticut's premiere source for paper shredding and document destruction.”

The shredding truck has the capacity to hold somewhere between 6,000 and 8,000 pounds of paper, according to Shred-It Connecticut Vice President of Sales James Lillis. “That’s an awful lot of people that will have their identity protected,” said Lillis. “What Shred-It Connecticut has been determined to do is to specifically help senior citizens, but of course, other residents as well, protect themselves from identity theft.”

Protecting residents from identity theft is a major component of Shred Fest. According to event organizer Joe Tyler, who is also on the Board of Directors for the Eighth Utilities District, information will be available regarding identity theft (from the police department) and fire prevention (from the Eighth Utilities District Fire Marshal’s Office).

“The idea was we could combine the police department’s identity theft function with a fire prevention function, and we could do an event that would be a benefit to the community,” said Tyler.

Shred Fest has been extremely successful. Last year community members brought enough paper to fill an entire truck, said Tyler, which equals out to three or four tons of material. 

“We haven’t kept count [in terms of the number of vehicles or people] but it’s a steady stream,” said Tyler. “We haven’t had it backed up but we do get a steady stream.”

Tyler said that anywhere from six to 10 Police Explorers will help out at the event; their duties will include directing traffic. According to the police department’s website, the Manchester Police Explorers Program is a youth group sponsored by the Manchester Police Department for high school and college students who are interested in the field of law enforcement.

Explained Tyler, “The Police Explorers play a major role in that they direct the traffic and they also participate by helping to bring the material to be shredded— from usually trunks of the cars or the rear of the cars— over to the shredding truck.”

According to Community Relations Officer Stacey Forish, Shred Fest provides residents the opportunity to be proactive against identity theft. “Shred Fest is a great opportunity for folks to protect themselves against identity theft by being proactive and destroying their information. Throwing bills and credit card offers away just isn’t enough these days unfortunately. We need to get into the habit of shredding everything to be completely safe from this growing problem,” observed Forish.

At Shred Fest, community members also have the option of observing their documents being shredded.  “We also have it set up where if people want to see their stuff getting shredded, they’re given priority and they’re moved to the head of the line as far as stuff to be shredded,” said Tyler. “People have things they really want to see shredded, so we can accommodate that; on the other hand, if you just want to drop it off, you can do that too.”

When their documents relate to estate situations, Tyler said many people want to actually view the shredding. “We have a lot of estate situations where people have had spouses or relatives like sisters or brothers die and they find all these personal papers and you can’t just throw them out, and there’s too much there for the home shredder. So we’re getting a lot of people who are in that kind of situation,” he stated.

In addition, small businesses find Shred Fest to be a helpful and economically prudent option. “We also get a lot of small businesses who don’t have enough to call in the shredding truck. It’s kind of a prohibitive cost for the amount they have,” noted Tyler.

Of course, people also dispose of old checks and personal mail at Shred Fest.  “It solves a lot of problems for a lot of people,” observed Tyler.

Tyler stressed that all types of paper will be accepted. “We will accept all kinds of paper, including staples, envelopes, paper clips … the bindings that they might have. In other words, people don’t have to remove paper clips, staples or any of that kind of stuff. That will save them a lot of time,” said Tyler.

A personal shredder, donated by Office Depot, will also be raffled off on Saturday. According to Tyler, the retail value of the shredder is around $100, although the prize will be raffled away for free. “While people are waiting for stuff to be shredded, they just put their name and phone numbers on a piece of paper and drop it into a container,” he explained.

The drawing is held at the end of the event, and in keeping with the day’s theme, identities will be protected. “All the entries, except for the winner, are run through the shredder—people get a kick out of that. So they don’t have to worry about being contacted by anybody,” said Tyler.

For more information on Shred Fest, call Tyler at (860) 646-1030.