Free Document Shredding Available to Residents

 

11 Shredding Events Scheduled in 2014

The Somerset County Board of Freeholders and the county’s Records Management Division will be sponsoring 11 “Operation Secure Shred” events throughout the county in 2014 for county residents, starting April 12.

“Properly disposing of personal documents is a necessary step in safeguarding and protecting your personal information and credit and preventing identify theft,” said Freeholder Peter S. Palmer, records management liaison. “We are pleased to be able to provide this very popular service to our residents again this year, in collaboration with our municipalities.

“Residents from all 21 Somerset County municipalities are invited to have personal documents shredded at as many free, on-site mobile paper-shredding events as they wish to attend. Residents do not have to reside in a town hosting an event to participate,” he said.

The kick-off event will be held at a county facility. For the convenience of residents, subsequent events will be hosted by various municipalities around the county, with assistance from Somerset County . All shredding events will be held on Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., or until the trucks are filled to capacity.  Shredding events are held rain or shine.

The county-hosted first shredding event will be April 12 at the Somerset County Public Works Garage, located at 410 Roycefield Road in Hillsborough. The South County Public Works Garage can be reached from Route 206 to Dukes Parkway West , left to Roycefield Road .  Complete directions are available at bit.ly/SCPubWorks.

 

Additional shredding events will be held at various municipal locations as follows: May 17 at Montgomery Fire Co. No. 1 in Belle Mead-35Griggstown Road; June 7 in Hillsborough at the Auten Road School parking lot-281 Auten Road; June 14 at the Green Brook Municipal Building  parking lot-111 Greenbrook Road; June 21 at the Washington School parking lot-614 Frist Ave. in Raritan;  June 28 at the Bedminster Public Works parking lot-75 Miller Lane; Sept. 6 at the Franklin Municipal Building parking lot-475 DeMott Lane in Somerset; Sept. 20 at the Bridgewater Municipal Building parking lot-100 Commons Way; Sept. 27 at the Branchburg Municipal Building parking lot-1077 U.S. Highway 202 North; Oct. 11 at the Bernards Engineering Services parking lot-277 S. Maple Ave. in Basking Ridge; and Oct. 18 at the Green Brook Municipal Building parking lot-111 Greenbrook Road.

Documents will be commercially shredded safely, privately and properly by trained, licensed and bonded document-destruction specialists.  Staples and paperclips do not have to be removed. Residents may bring documents in up to six boxes, containers or bags per visit and will be asked to take back their receptacles.  Participants may stay and watch as their documents are shred, if they wish. The following recyclable items will not be accepted: junk mail, magazines and newspapers.

For more information about locations of the municipal shredding events, contact the towns directly. A listing of towns in Somerset County can be found on the county’s website at www.co.somerset.nj.us/towndir.html. A schedule of shredding events and a brochure about shredding documents are available at www.co.somerset.nj.us/spotlight.html.

According to the “2013 Identity Fraud Report” released in February 2013 by Javelin Strategy & Research, in 2012, identity fraud incidents increased by more than one million victims and fraudsters stole more than $21 billion, the highest amount since 2009.

If you believe that you are a victim of identity theft, the Federal Trade Commission provides a comprehensive 68-page booklet titled “Taking Charge: What To Do If Your Identity Is Stolen” at www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/pdf-0009-taking-charge.pdf.

For further information, contact the Somerset County Records Management Division at 908-203-6018 or recordsmgmt@co.somerset.nj.us.