Is Shredding at Staples Safe? archived

I wouldn't do it. It all comes down to the reliability of the person working at the counter, regardless of where you go.

Costco has some great shredders. Not too expensive... I guess the best observation I can make here is "buy bigger than you think you need". Its tempting to buy a $25 shredder, you think that you'll just open all the envelopes and put things in a piece at a time - you probably won't!

A larger shredder can power through a lot of tough documents. Look for one that can handle staples (a big deal!) and you should be in great shape.

cubby said:

Is it safe to have financial documents shredded at Staples? How do most people dispose of these items? And, if you bought your own shredder, what kind?

IF memory serves, Staples partners with either Shred-It or Iron Mountain ... The bins are locked and emptied by the vendor's driver (not store personel) and loaded onto the vendor's truck ... They are then taken by the vendor to their facility for shredding and, ultimately, recycling ... Very safe.

If you're going to Staples anyway, go to the back and check out the shredders. We have a little one from there, which shreds 12 pages at a time, CDs and credit cards. They're all arrayed along the wall, so you can decide which features you need.

@jasmo apparently got his threads mixed up. I think this was intended for here, unless he was just showing straw what useful information looks like:

http://forum.maplewoodonline.com/vc/discussion/91420/chance-of-snow-on-saturday-1229#Item_38

marylago said:

@jasmo apparently got his threads mixed up. I think this was intended for here, unless he was just showing straw what useful information looks like:

Oops, you're right. I deleted and will post here the crucial picture that recommends spending a few extra dollars to get a cross-cutting shredder to avoid the situation as in Iran, when weavers reassambled shredded US CIA spy secrets.

Jasmo said:

marylago said:

@jasmo apparently got his threads mixed up. I think this was intended for here, unless he was just showing straw what useful information looks like:

Oops, you're right. I deleted and will post here the crucial picture that recommends spending a few extra dollars to get a cross-cutting shredder to avoid the situation as in Iran, when weavers reassambled shredded US CIA spy secrets.

Just to follow-up -

That little shredder from Staples, that I mentioned above, turns the paper into short, confetti-like pieces, not strips. PITA to bag for recycling, BTW.

nohero,

I have a similar shredder. I put a bag in the shredder, that way, I don't have to bag it later.

We bulk shred here at The UPS Store.

Run any of the shredderes you can purchase more the 20 minutes in an hour and they will not last long.

Our service will even shred 3 ring binders. $.72 a net pound (less the box or bag) and it goes into a locked drop bin. Our Bonded Shredding service then comes and turns the contents into cross cut dust.

Later,
The UPS Store
George

George, is there a minimum for your bulk shredding service? I have a decent Fellowes brand cross-cut shredder at home, but it's not particularly high capacity, so doing my own shredding always takes a long time, so I've been wanting to try one of the bulk services--and your store is more convenient for me than Staples.

We bought this one at Staples. Put the bag inside and no mess. It was on sale when I bought about 1 1/2 years ago. It cost me $80.00

http://www.staples.com/Staples-12-Sheet-High-Speed-Cross-Cut-Shredder/product_870264

I have used these folks for a large time-sensitive shred project. I was very happy with their service and their price.
http://tinyurl.com/d22uhu5
For my household stuff I just wait and do it for free at the dump on the Shred-It days!

I use George for anything more than a few pages. As he notes, most shredders overheat quickly.

Home shredders need to be lubed with the appropriate oil on a regular basis. An $8 bottle like this will last a loooooong time.

http://www.staples.com/Staples-Shredder-Oil-14-oz/product_602399

Thanks George,
Sounds like a bargain to me.

mauras said:

George, is there a minimum for your bulk shredding service? I have a decent Fellowes brand cross-cut shredder at home, but it's not particularly high capacity, so doing my own shredding always takes a long time, so I've been wanting to try one of the bulk services--and your store is more convenient for me than Staples.

No Min in amount. 1 pound Min in price, or $.72 cents.

We have had pretty bad luck with home shredders. I think we are on our third or fourth one. This one still works but very slowly and, as George mentions, you have to let it "rest" periodically. So, I mostly just save up my shredding in a box for the periodic "shredding days" at Maplewood DPW. They do that without charge and you can watch your stuff go in. Downside is that it only comes around once or twice a year.

Valley National Bank does free shredding days (one tomorrow at Pompton Lakes). You watch your stuff go in to the shredding truck so no worries.
Maplewood does it as well but I expect it will be spring before the next one.

We shred at home. Apparently unlimited capacity.

Costco has (or had) shredders. It pays to get the biggest one, so you can drop in entire letters like those irritating credit card offers, dispose of CDs and DVDs, etc.