Lots of us now have shredders in our homes and offices to destroy information.. they are certainly quick, quiet and inexpensive and are useful to destroy personal and confidential information..  The issue that is often overlooked is how to actually recycle the paper after you’ve shredded it  .

But many organisations who recycle paper won’t accept it in shredded form..  You may find that many organisations won’t recycle your shredded paper for very specific reasons.  .

Probably the major reason is that of safety, certainly processing shredded paper can be dangerous.. It’s awkward to handle and sort, falls off conveyor belts, gets tangled in machinery and also represents a tangible fire risk. There is also a difficulty with sorting, many processing units are unable to sort or detect paper the size of shredded paper.

Combined with this is the fact that shredded paper has a smaller fibre length.. This will actually, reduce the quality and strength of any paper produced from this recycling.  You can see why the recycling companies would rather not have to cope with large amounts of shredded paper like this.

So what’s the solution?

Well of course you should always check with your local recycling scheme, some companies have the facilities to deal with this paper easily. . If not try and reduce the amount of paper that you do shred, of course all confidential and personal papers should be shredded but often we get into a habit of shredding everything.

The other obvious use of shredded papers is to help in composting , although it cannot obviously be recycled then – it can be used or disposed of much more easily. You certainly should never risk not destroying confidential information, but think about the environmental options when possible..

Read how you can save money and reduce land fill by refilling your printer with compatible toner refills and many other green tips like paper shredding