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Health & Fitness

Tax time is coming! What to do about all of those papers?

Tax time is coming - what do you do with all those old files and other important papers? You don't want to throw them in the garbage!

Tax time is coming and now you’re wondering what to do with all of
those old files, receipts and other important papers. They take up needed space
but you don’t want to throw them out since we’ve all heard the stories of
people rummaging through garbage cans and dumpsters looking for personal
information to steal.

You could buy a personal paper shredder but do you know how long it will take to shred all of your papers at 3-10 pages a minute? Hours or even days! What about those staples, paper clips and binder clips? Gotta remove them too! Even if you have it running smoothly, it will overheat and need to cool down before you can finish your shredding. Ok, so after hours of frustrating work you now have bags of shredded paper (remember how many times you emptied that little personal shredder?). What will you do with that?  Putting shredded paper in your garbage just tells the thieves which bags to steal.

Looking for a better solution? Use a commercial paper shredding and recycling company. There are companies that provide drop-off and pickup service and they usually have much smaller minimums or none at all in comparison with the on-site shredding companies. These companies charge by the pound or the box and can shred hundreds or thousands of pounds per hour. Another advantage to using a commercial shredding company is that the shredders they use are very powerful and can tear through staples, paper clips and binder clips, as well as cd’s, credit cards and floppy discs with no problem, so you don’t have to waste time cleaning up all of your papers and removing those things.

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While many people think of those huge trucks that show up and shred on-site, that is not always a viable option for small or home-based businesses and just regular people with important documents to shred. Those companies require a significant amount of paper to come to you. Also, depending on where you’re located, due to their size and weight, some shredding trucks can’t come to your location. Another important issue regarding those shredding trucks is that they're not very environmentally friendly. The engine must be running while they shred, burning 4-8 gallons of diesel fuel per hour. These are all reasons why you should use a company with a plant-based shredder that can also pick up your papers.

Another great advantage of using a commercial paper shredding company is that all of the paper, cardboard and metals are recycled. Shredding companies take your shredded paper, mix it with other shredded paper (this also helps with security) and then bale it into 1,000 lb to 1,800 lb bales which are then returned to paper mills to be converted back into recycled paper. Each ton of paper recycled saves 17 trees!

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Shred Spot in Northbrook can take care of all of your document destruction needs. You can drop off your papers and see them get shredded or we can pick them up at your location for a small fee. We charge by the pound with no minimums and you don’t have to worry about removing things like staples or
clips. Just call us for an appointment. We can often pick up your documents the
same day or the following day. We are open 9:00-5:00 Monday through Friday and Saturdays by appointment but please call first since we are sometimes out on
pickups. Don’t forget that no matter the color of your papers, the shreds are always green!

Paul Kaufmann is President of Shred Spot

3190 MacArthur Blvd

Northbrook, IL 60062

(847) 291-0100

www.shredspot.com

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