Getting rid of sensitive documents

[wreckwriter]

Hi guys, I have a question I'm hoping you guys can help me with. Its off topic but you all seem pretty knowledgable on a whole bunch of subjects so maybe someone has a good idea for this:

I have a large quantity (big garbage bag full) of old bank records and other sensitive documents I need to get rid of in a reasonably secure manner. I have only a little 2 sheet shredder so if I go that way I'm looking at multiple hours of extremely dull work and a lot of shredded paper. I cannot burn them, I'm in the burbs and you just can't burn stuff here. I cannot find a document disposal company that will just do a single batch, they all want to do ongoing contracts.

Any ideas?

[LCHIEN]

for about $20-30 you can buy a shredder that will do four or five full size sheets and cross shred them. Also has reverse for jams. That's you best bet. Any big office supply store or electronics store will have them.
Goes pretty fast when you can do 4-5 at a time and not picking jams out.

[rickd]

hi,

i second loring's idea of a good cross-cut shredder for about $25. it will also come in handy for years to come.

if that doesn't appeal to you, then you might want to try looking up 'paper shredder' companies in your area instead of 'document disposal' companies. although they seem to be the same, there is a subtle difference. document disposal companies are into long-term storage and retention of documents and have pretty high overhead. shredding companies on the other hand only get rid of stuff.

if there is a 'paper shredder' business near you - they usually take anything large or small.

[Copper]

Our bank has a couple of days a year when people can bring in their sensitive documents to be shredded for free. You might want to check around and see if any businesses do the same in your area.

[91FE]

Go ahead...break the law. Just do it safely. Your fire will be out within 10 minutes. Then go buy a 10-12 sheet cross-cut so this doesn't happen again.

[LinuxRandal]

How small of a batch? As paper burns quick, you'll have to add more to keep the fire going, to BBQ your ONE hot dog, since your out of charcoal!

Otherwise, do you know of anyone which a leaf shredder? I would even consider calling the fire department, to see if they would offfer any lessons on using an extinguisher, and supply a trash can fire example.
Need to do any spray painting? you need a dropcloth.

[wreckwriter]

Thanks for the tips guys. I considered doing the fire but I don't have a metal drum or other container to do it safely and I don't want hot ashes flying all over the place. I'll check the yellow papers under "paper shredding".

[wreckwriter]

How small of a batch? As paper burns quick, you'll have to add more to keep the fire going, to BBQ your ONE hot dog, since your out of charcoal!

Otherwise, do you know of anyone which a leaf shredder? I would even consider calling the fire department, to see if they would offfer any lessons on using an extinguisher, and supply a trash can fire example.
Need to do any spray painting? you need a dropcloth.

Its a big garbage bag full.

[havighurst]

There are companies who do this. You could check the yellow pages. When I moved, I contacted a company called "Shred it" and they have a big truck that came to my home and they shred it right in front of you. I think it cost me about a hundred bucks. This was the same company that my employer used to destroy it's confidential information. Once you factor in the cost of a shredder and your time, this may be an option.


www.shredit.com/

[Tequila]

One of the local TV stations here runs a campaign about once a year where they drive to different neighborhoods with an high-capacity shredder in an RV. They run a bunch of news stories about identity theft during the month they're operating it. You might want to find out if any of the media outlets in your area have plans to do something like that.

[scorrpio]

Dump them over your backyard, spread them out a bit.

Then, run your lawnmower over them.

[wreckwriter]

Dump them over your backyard, spread them out a bit.

Then, run your lawnmower over them.

Heh, I actually thought of that.....

More seriously I considered soaking them in a barrel of water, thought that might reduce them to mush but don't know that it would work. I've found intact paper in shipwrecks several years old..

[sacherjj]

The easiest is to burn them. I would suggest getting a good quality cross-cut shredder for the future. Now it is second nature to open mail, dump the credit card offers through the shredder. Then the process of getting ready for the trash pickup includes dumping the bin. It makes me feel much better about this. It would still take quite a bit of time to shred a garbage bag full with my 14 sheet shredder.

Another option is to see if a local office has a shredding company service them. You might be able to put it in the bin if you have a friend there or give them a couple bucks. Then a bonded company empties the bins and shreds the documents on site. We have had that in the last two companies for which I worked.

[Jim Boyd]

How about a gallon of white-out?

[LarryG]

I take it you don't know anyone who raises goats?