Auroraadvocate.com - City to provide day for shredding of documents

by Brent Hovey

Reporter

Aurora -- For the second meeting in a row, Councilman John Kudley proposed a project to benefit city residents.

And the first session of that program will take place Sept. 27 at the same time and place as the city's semi-annual paint dropoff.

During Council's Sept. 8 session, Kudley called for the city to sponsor a "Community Shred Day."

He said the idea is for the city to offer a periodic free Community Shred Day, in which residents can drop off personal documents for destruction.

At the previous Council meeting Aug. 25, Kudley proposed that the city either share in the cost charged to residents for recycling or absorb the entire cost.

Both proposals are part of Kudley's ongoing RTR (Return to Residents) program.

Kudley said he contacted three shredding companies, and the most expensive quote was $750 for a four-hour period.

After hearing Kudley's idea, it was suggested the shred day be incorporated with the citywide collection of paint and paint products.

When Mayor Lynn McGill asked Portage County Recycling Center officials about the possibility, they said they could provide the service at no cost to the city.

"Good ideas often spawn responses that are ever better," said McGill about implementing Kudley's plan.

The paint dropoff and shred day will be Sept. 27 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Brown-Keidel Service Center. In addition to paint and personal documents, items to be accepted are car batteries, computers and computer parts.

DOCUMENTS will be collected and shredded at the Portage County Recycling Center under the supervision of Director Bill Steiner.

"This provides residents with a much-needed service to help prevent identity theft," said Kudley.

"It will help the city's efforts to 'go green' because shredded materials will be sent to paper recycling facilities instead of being place in a landfill."

Kudley said the materials are bleached to remove ink and are recycled into items such as paper towels, tissue and envelopes.

Residents are limited to from five to seven boxes of materials for shredding.

"Residents can be assured that the documents are destroyed," said Kudley. "Any personal documents containing sensitive information can be shredded."

Among those items are old checkbooks, pre-approved credit card applications, billing and financial statements, tax forms, payroll stubs, legal documents and others.

"All service providers require background checks and provide 'certificates of destruction' for all destroyed materials," added Kudley.

"I think this is a great idea," said Council President Jim Fisher. "Some people will think it's a good program, some will not. Whatever the percentage of people who use it, it's not a lot of money and it's a good program to offer."

Ward 3 Councilman Carl Rausch agreed. "I'd like to see what the market appetite for this is," he said. "If the turnout is good, we can do it again."

E-mail: bhovey@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3115