Almost every home has paper documents that are too sensitive to throw in the trash. These documents need to be shredded to ensure personal information is protected. With this in mind, consider how much paper a whole community needs to shred. Lots of private information can pile up. The longer it sits, the higher the risk of identity theft.
Individuals could schedule shredding services to dispose of their documents. But community shredding events provide a much more effective solution. With these events, it’s easier for entire neighborhoods to securely shred their documents and prevent identity theft. Read on to explore how community shredding events help prevent identity theft.
The Risk of Identity Theft
You’d think physical documents wouldn’t carry so much risk in today’s digital world. But criminals aren’t choosy — they’ll settle for your documents over your data. Physical documents in the home can be the perfect target for those looking to steal someone’s identity. Criminals don’t even need to enter your residence to get this information. They can find the information they need by going through your mail or trash.
Criminals aren’t choosy — they’ll settle for your documents over your data.
Identity theft continues to be a real threat. In fact, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 1.1 million complaints of identity theft in 2024. In the same year, they reported around 2.6 million complaints of related fraud. This resulted in more than $12.7 billion in total financial losses. It’s numbers like these that prove just how valuable secure document destruction can be.
How Community Shredding Events Prevent Identity Theft
Tactical identity theft prevention can be out of reach for some people, so being able to shred sensitive information via an event is a meaningful opportunity. At shred events, the document destruction professionals who provide the service ensure high levels of security. They use special mobile shred trucks, which allow the shredding team to destroy documents on-site while customers watch. The shredding machines themselves employ cross-cut shredding measures, which are more secure than home shredders. Customers also receive a certificate of destruction as proof that their documents were destroyed securely and in compliance with any local, state, or federal privacy laws.
Added Benefits of Community Shredding Events
Security and identity theft prevention are not the only benefits of a community shredding event. Community shredding events also provide a balance of affordability, convenience, and sustainability for an entire community of people.
- Cost-effective: Shredding event organizers might ask attendees for donations or a fee for the shredding service, but it’s often minimal if so. Many event hosts cover the full cost and offer shredding services for free.
- Convenient: Shred events make document destruction easy. All you have to do is drop off your paper at the event and go on with your day. You don’t have to schedule a shredding company to come to your residence either. A mobile shred truck is on-site at the event for ultimate convenience.
- Environmentally friendly: Instead of tossing documents into the trash (which you shouldn’t do anyway), you can have your paper shredded and recycled. Most shredding companies bale the paper bits and then send them to a recycling company.
Before going to an event, there are a few details you should be aware of. First off, check to see if there is a paper limit. Some events have a per-person limit. You should also know beforehand whether the service is free or whether it requires a small fee or donation to a local charity.
If you’re interested in finding a shred event in your community, there are likely a number of opportunities. Considering how many local organizations, associations, and businesses choose to host shredding events throughout the year, there’s bound to be an event in your area. A common place to look is your neighborhood newsletter, the city calendar, or local Reddit communities.
Community shredding events provide a balance of affordability, convenience, and sustainability.
Local police departments or other government agencies may offer shredding events. Many businesses like banks or churches will also hold these sorts of events in their parking lots. These events should take place in large, accessible, communal places so everyone in the area can take advantage of the shredding.
Host a Shredding Event With Shred Nations
If you’re a business or other organization looking to host a shred event for your community, Shred Nations can help. We offer mobile shredding services for events, as well as off-site destruction, recurring shredding, bulk disposal, and hard drive destruction.
For more information on hosting your shredding event or any of our shredding services, give us a call at (800) 747-3365, fill out the form, or contact us directly using our live chat.
