Disposing of confidential paper

SailorSam

I just use a pair of scissors to cut-off my name & address and any a/c numbers then stuff goes in the recycle bin or the compost.

Owain_Moneysaver

There are companies such as Iron Mountain that will come to your door with a ginormous shredder on a lorry and shred your stuff by the bin-bag in a few minutes. You can watch them do it.

Mojisola

Ectophile wrote: »

There's a limit to how much you can sensibly burn in a log burner. They aren't meant to be waste incinerators. A few sheets can be scrunched up to start the fire. But thousands of sheets is going to be a problem.

I got through quite a lot of papers over several weeks after I cleared my Dad's house out. You can use them to help the fire get going but, when it's burning really hot, paper disappears very quickly.

Ectophile

My cheap shredder makes very little mess. That's mainly because it came with its own plastic waste bin. You just sit the shredder on top of the bin and start shredding. When the bin's full, upend it into a large plastic bag, and start again.

Unfortunately, it's s strip-cut one, which really isn't up to modern standards. A cross-cut one is better for security, and makes finer paper bits as well.

sheramber

We shred papers as we go and when we clear out our files we shred as we remove them.

The shredded paper is collected in a bin which sits underneath the shredder and recycled in our blue bin. We are asked to wrap it in newspaper before putting it in the blue bin.

Sally_A

Do you have any trusted friends with an allotment and a garden incinerator?

I got fed up with shredders, the motor never lasted, so now incinerate in the garden.

It took less than 20 mins to get rid of the Christmas wrapping and a pile of confidential papers - the ash will then go into the compost.

Or does your work have a confidential bin that you may be able to put a bit at a time in? :cool:

forgotmyname

Rip it up or shred it and soak in water for a few days and then compost it.

I wouldnt put anything with my name/address on in the bin.

Money_maker

forgotmyname wrote: »

I wouldnt put anything with my name/address on in the bin.

I would have thought it would be other information like account numbers and suchlike which would be a bigger risk. It's not too hard to find out who lives where.

Interestingly, the OP probably gives much away about his identity in his posts on MSE. This can also provide an identity risk.

cosmnw1

Sally_A wrote: »

Do you have any trusted friends with an allotment and a garden incinerator?

I got fed up with shredders, the motor never lasted, so now incinerate in the garden.

It took less than 20 mins to get rid of the Christmas wrapping and a pile of confidential papers - the ash will then go into the compost.

Or does your work have a confidential bin that you may be able to put a bit at a time in? :cool:

Yes, I did get fed up with the shredding as well.

Thanks for the idea, I'll try and ask friends.

Alternatively what about the soaking idea below "soak in water for a few days and then compost it.", but with a twist.

After the soaking I'd leave it to dry outside, then throw in the paper recycling council bin.

DKLS

I just burn the lot in an old chimnea. Takes about 10 mins a month to do.