Mount Prospect to host a document destruction event

The Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County sponsors Document Destruction events to assist residents with recycling outdated or sensitive documents. It's free, but residents must live in one of SWANCC's member communities and IDs will be checked for proof of residency.

Since 2005, 1,114,320 pounds of paper have been shredded and recycled from SWANCC one-day events.

On Saturday, Aug. 30, the village of Mount Prospect will host an event at its Public Works Facility, 1700 W. Central Road, from 9 to 11 a.m. As SWANCC residents drive up in their vehicles, workers will unload the paper documents into large carts. When full, the carts of paper are emptied into the truck's cross-shredding machine. At the end of the event, the shredded documents are transported to Groot's recycling facility in Elk Grove Village and baled before being recycled into new paper.

Typical documents to shred include medical forms, bank statements, personal files and retired tax forms. Staples and paper clips are acceptable, but binders should be removed. Residents will be limited to six file-size boxes or paper shopping bags per vehicle. Do not bring paper in plastic bags.

"Every consumer is at risk of identity theft and criminals have gotten very astute at going into garbage cans and recycling bins stealing names, addresses and even bank account numbers," said Mary Allen, SWANCC's Recycling and Education director. "Because of this constant threat, SWANCC wants to assist residents with destroying their personal information, making sure that all shredding is done on site at the host location before being recycled."

For more information on SWANCC's Document Destruction Events, or other programs and resources, please contact the agency at (847) 724-9205 or visit SWANCC's website at swancc.org.