Montclair's Next Shred-Fest Is Saturday

On the first day of autumn Montclair residents can reclaim some space in their homes, save some money, lower their carbon footprint, and enjoy the peace of mind from seeing their unneeded confidential documents destroyed. The next Montclair Shred-Fest! will be held on Saturday, Sept. 22, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Community Services Yard, 219 North Fullerton Avenue. The event is hosted by Montclair’s Environmental Affairs office and is free for all township residents.

Some people are concerned about recycling their confidential documents, including tax forms, medical records, financial information or business transactions. These recyclable papers often end up getting thrown away as garbage.

Montclair's mixed paper is a valuable commodity, earning us at least $65 per ton from our recycling vendor. But if thrown out as garbage, paper costs us over $80 per ton to burn at the Essex Incinerator.

Paying $80 to burn something worth over $65 means we lose about $150 for every ton we don’t recycle, and since as much as 5,000 tons of our refuse each year is recyclable paper, that means we throw away around $750,000 annually.

We’re actually burning our own money!

Now all residents can watch their confidential documents be destroyed, right in front of their eyes, while still recycling this valuable paper.

A paper-shredding truck will be provided free of charge by our recycling vendor, Green Sky Industries. Residents can drive in and will be helped as they unload their personal files. A closed-circuit video camera inside the truck will view the paper being shredded, and residents will be able to watch it happen.

And recycling not only saves money, it saves energy. Manufacturing products using recycled materials requires less energy than making products from virgin materials. Wasting energy emits unnecessary greenhouse gases which are contributing to climate change; this event will help reduce your carbon footprint!

So you can save money and energy, boost recycling, and clear all of those unneeded documents out of your home all at once, at the “Montclair Shred-Fest!”

Remember: confidential paper documents only! Regular paper recycling is collected curbside, or can be dropped off at the adjacent Recycling Center in the DCS Yard. Don't worry about paper clips, staples, or envelope windows; clear scotch tape is acceptable, but not masking or duct tape!

For further information, contact the office of Environmental Affairs at 973-509-5721, or,grussell@montclairnjusa.org.

This information is from a press release from the Township of Montclair.