Free shred event scheduled for campus community

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Western Michigan University students, faculty and staff are encouraged to "get their shred on" by participating in a free campuswide shredding event Friday, Oct. 27, to ensure all professional or personal documents and media are properly destroyed and recycled.

The campus Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Committee is hosting the event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Lot 41 near Sangren Hall. A truck with several 95-gallon containers will be provided by Data Guardian for drop off. If documents are in recyclable containers such as paper or cardboard, the entire container can be placed into the bins or directly on the truck.

All plastic and metal must be removed, but there is no need to remove rubber bands or paperclips. CDs, DVDs, VHS and floppy disks will also be accepted but must be placed in a separate container. No hard drives will be accepted. For disposal of hard drives, please contact WMU Surplus at (269) 387-8829 on campus or (269) 888-2526 off campus.

Paper documents are shredded and baled into 1,500 lb. bales. At the end of the destruction process, Data Guardian will issue a Certificate of Destruction verifying all material has been destroyed in a confidential manner. The bales of shredded paper are sent to a recycler for pulping. All recyclable material returns to the market in a variety of recycled paper products. All non-paper media is incinerated in a waste-to-clean energy facility which is NAID certified.

To schedule a pickup for a nominal fee, for those who are unable to make the shredding event or have more than 15 boxes to dispose of, contact Data Guardian at (269) 327-8553.

For more news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.