Sensitive document destruction, garbage juice, and you.....

[ColeTrickle]

The paper will turn into slop in a couple weeks , then just pour it down the drain

[Bill]

Originally Posted by ColeTrickle

The paper will turn into slop in a couple weeks , then just pour it down the drain

That's what I was thinking, but since some of the envelopes have the clear cellophane on them, I was going to just drain the water out, dump the soggy mess into a contractor garbage bag, and put it out in the trash.

[ColeTrickle]

You can use the slop as paper mache perhaps make some Christmas ornaments

[dvarapala]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

The office supply store says they'll shred it for me for a set price per pound. OK, except now all my sensitive financials are in the hands of the office supply store and their shredding contractor.

Companies like ShredIt have special trucks which they will drive over to your place and shred your stuff while you watch, so no possibility of shenanigans.

Not cheap, but if you want the peace of mind...

[Yadkin]

I took most of my stuff to my UPS store and watched them put it into a locked bin. It comes down to trusting the company that makes their livelihood of shredding your documents instead and looking through truckloads of dusty paper to commit a crime.

My last shredder crapped out during the move and now I do a burn about once/ month. We fill a shoebox, dribble wate oil on it and light it up in the side yard.

I could compost it along with kitchen garbage, but I'm a Republican and therefore have a duty to burn stuff.

[Louie Detroit]

Originally Posted by Stevedore

When I worked for the government, we had a humongous shredder that would do thick reports, hardcover books, etc. It had a large plastic bag on the output, where it looked like it was snowing when it was working.

After I retired, I bought a fairly nice crosscut shredder from Amazon. It does a nice job, but the auto start/stop feature stopped working, as if it always thinks there is some paper in the intake. Until I get up the energy & interest in troubleshooting it, I just use it in manual mode. Wasn't all that expensive, IIRC.

A vigorous brushing of the entire shredding head area along with some good blasts of canned air should fix this. You probably have a problem with a hanging chad over a sensor.

[Unsuspicious]

What do you think someone could actually do with your old bank statements or bills?

[Mick]

Originally Posted by aerovette

If you burn logs first, and have a real legit fire going, the ashes will be near zero. The fire will be so hot they'll burn up too. Feed the papers in to the hot blaze, have a few cocktails, avoid falling toward the fire.

This does work. I have a "Solo Stove", and once I get that thing rolling, I can throw a dozen or so sheets in there and have little or no ash floating out.

We also have a shredder, that wasn't very expensive, like $70. It can run for about 10 minutes before it needs to cool down, and after about that amount of time, I'm ready to take a break, like for a couple of days.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Louie Detroit

A vigorous brushing of the entire shredding head area along with some good blasts of canned air should fix this. You probably have a problem with a hanging chad over a sensor.

I already took it apart and looked at it....it was pretty clean. The fan engages, but the two shredding cylinders are locked up. Tried using a hammer and screwdriver to get them to spin and only succeeded in bending a couple of the shredding tines. It's old, way over 10 years, maybe even 15 years.

[ThePirate]

I am having the same concerns but can't imagine somone going through the trash truck, or Mt. Trashmore, then finding my trash bag among thousands, millions and then going through it , finding the "secret" part of my trash and then using the data they may find against me. Who would want to go through this process to find anything about my life? Now if I was Donald Trump, or someone famous, maybe I'd think differently.

[Tikiman]

Where I worked, we had large special boxes to throw our paperwork. The trash cans in our offices were basically just for lunch trash. Everything else went into the shredder boxes. No idea who picked them up or what they did with them.

[Big bob]

[Unsuspicious]

Originally Posted by ThePirate

I am having the same concerns but can't imagine somone going through the trash truck, or Mt. Trashmore, then finding my trash bag among thousands, millions and then going through it , finding the "secret" part of my trash and then using the data they may find against me. Who would want to go through this process to find anything about my life? Now if I was Donald Trump, or someone famous, maybe I'd think differently.

So much easier to just nab a piece of your mail I'd imagine if I were interested in doing a fraud

[Frankie the Fink]

You should know by now you don't destroy sensitive documents, you store them on the greasy garage floor under your Corvette, protected by a Genie garage door opener and when you son comes to borrow the vette to take some hookers for a ride make sure he closes the garage door.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Frankie the Fink

You should know by now you don't destroy sensitive documents, you store them on the greasy garage floor under your Corvette, protected by a Genie garage door opener and when you son comes to borrow the vette to take some hookers for a ride make sure he closes the garage door.

Clearly I will never be presidential material.

[dvarapala]

Originally Posted by Tikiman

Where I worked, we had large special boxes to throw our paperwork. The trash cans in our offices were basically just for lunch trash. Everything else went into the shredder boxes. No idea who picked them up or what they did with them.

We have those where I work. Inside the boxes are big canvas bags that can be locked with a cable lock. Every week or so the ShredIt guy drives up, hauls the bags out to his truck, and shreds them right there in the parking lot. Our receptionist has to escort him throughout the building, so there's no chance for any shenanigans.

[MadInNc]

Originally Posted by dvarapala

Companies like ShredIt have special trucks which they will drive over to your place and shred your stuff while you watch, so no possibility of shenanigans.

Not cheap, but if you want the peace of mind...

At the move I shredded #80 per $75

[Steve_R]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

This might be the solution, but I'm still committed to my science experiment on the back patio.

Are there any valuable documents in it? What’s your address? I’ll check on it for you. I’m helpful like that.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Steve_R

Are there any valuable documents in it? What’s your address? I’ll check on it for you. I’m helpful like that.

Just don't steal my garbage can. I've had it for a long time, and it's sentimental to me. I lost the lid a while back and I've been checking Craigslist to see if I can find the exact, period correct lid.

[dvarapala]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

Just don't steal my garbage can. I've had it for a long time, and it's sentimental to me.

Is it a Bose?