David,

Thank you for sharing this information.  I was unaware that shredded paper was more difficult to recycle.  We shred everything as a precaution since I cannot review each and every record we dispose.  

Good to know!

-----------------------------------
Veronica L. Fisher
University Records Manager
George Mason University
Phone: 703-993-2201
Fax: 703-993-8911
Email: [log in to unmask]

________________________________________
From: Records Management Program <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of McLallen, David <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, April 7, 2014 10:15 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Disposal of Materials in Shredders

Something I haven't seen addressed in this thread: Shredding should ONLY be used for truly sensitive documents. Shredding everything that gets tossed, whether it needs to be or not is a problem. It is very difficult to recycle shredded paper. Paper is a woven product and has a grain. When that grain is cut, the recycling becomes much more difficult. Very few companies will recycle such paper, because the process is expensive and cumbersome and a large portion ends up in landfills. The best practice, from an ecological viewpoint, is to shred only sensitive material and recycle the rest with an operation that uses a pulp mill.

David R. McLallen, ECMp
Boulder County Records Manager

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