Shred It! Howard County Invites Residents to Recycling Event

Still holding onto tax info from 2002? Or medical records you no longer need?

Howard County is hosting its fall shredding event on Saturday, Oct. 18, when residents can bring up to three bags or boxes of paper with sensitive information for safe, green disposal.

According to the Howard County Recycling Division, shredding paper shortens its fibers, requiring more effort to make new paper. To that end, citizens should only shred items with sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, date of birth, signatures, PINs, passwords and account numbers. Things that are OK to shred include federal and state tax documents, credit card and other household bills, pay stubs, insurance bills, medical records and mortgage documents, according to the county.

The following items will not be accepted at the shredding event: file folders, manila folders, junk mail, schoolwork, brochures, programs from events, coloring books, advertising, magazines and calendars.

Howard County residents can bring up to three bags or boxes of paper to be shredded on-site.

The rain-or-shine shredding event will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, at Meadowbrook Park and Ride. To get there, take exit 1A off MD Route 100.

Editor’s note: The date of this event has been corrected to reflect that it is scheduled for Oct. 18.