Chicago Shredding Events
From March through November, dozens of free shredding events take place across the City.
Often called Community Shred Days or Shred-A-Thons, the events are sponsored by the City, Aldermen, and Civic organizations and provide a convenient way to shred and recycle sensitive documents. They also accept pre-shredded paper for recycling.
The on-site shredding and recycling services are provided by Midway Moving.
Take confidential documents for shredding or shredded paper for recycling.
WHAT’S ACCEPTED:
1. Confidential documents
Any paper that has personal information on it is considered a confidential document. Examples include bank statements, invoices, medical records, credit card offers, and pay-stubs.
Most events allow you to bring one or two bankers boxes full of documents. If you’re taking more than one box, check with the individual event host for their exact event policy.
Staples and small paper clips are okay, remove large clips and binders. All shredded paper collected at these events is recycled.
2. Shredded paper from home
You can drop off shredded confidential documents for recycling, too. Reminder, shredded paper is not recyclable in the blue cart. Review the guide to see what is.
WHAT’S NOT ACCEPTED:
1. Non-confidential documents
Glossy paper, magazines, books, newspapers, credit and ID cards, and other non-confidential documents are not accepted. If you’re looking to shred paper other than confidential documents, please refer to Midway Moving’s FAQ to make sure it’s accepted.
2. Documents from work
This service is for residential customers only. Midway has the right to refuse any obvious business or institutional documents. Businesses can contact Midway to order separate service.
A big thank you to Midway Moving for providing the shredding and recycling services, and for maintaining this extensive public calendar.
