NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—On July 11, Middlesex County residents were permitted to bring five file boxes or 100 pounds of paper each to be shredded at the New Brunswick High School. 

The unique event, held in the morning, served as an opportunity for those with bank statements, receipts and even junk mail, to dispose of them securely.

The Middlesex County Solid Waste Management is holding paper shreddings in 20 municipalities this summer.

The New Brunswick event was the ninth of the season.  The following day a similar event was held in Edison.

The next scheduled event is July 26 in Woodbridge.

Information Destruction Services (IDS) was one of two shredding services present at last year’s Old Bridge event, and expected 20 tons of waste at that event alone, according to an article on NJ.com.  

“The shredded documents, that are in the form of confetti-sized pieces, are brought back to a recycling facility, where they bailed and shipped out to pulping mills to be made into household tissue and paper towel products,” according to the website of Information Destruction Systems. 

Considering that Old Bridge is a relatively popular location, the shredding events likely yield a total of over 500 tons of waste each year. 

IDS advises residents to shred all personal mail, junk mail, bank statements, social security information and credit card statements, and it provides a certificate of destruction at the time of service. 

This year, Safe Guard will be one of the companies providing services, according to Public Information Officer Jennifer Bradshaw.