BBB: Free shred event to help fight identity theft destroys 47 tons of paper

BROOKFIELD -- The Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin held its spring ShredFest events, marking its tenth consecutive year shredding paper documents for free for the community. Events were held on April 30 in Brookfield, Appleton, and Madison.

According to a press release, a combined total of more than 47 tons of paper was shred and recycled as a result of this local, educational and free event.

ShredFest is a national event with several dozen BBBs participating in shredding events across the country. The Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin has been holding free shredding events twice annually since 2007.

Proshred Security, ARMS, and Pellitteri Data Destruction conducted the enormous shredding using multiple trucks at each location. WISC-TV (Madison) was our media partner.

Partnering with SVA Certified Public Accountants (Brookfield and Madison), and Thrivent Financial (Appleton), attendees enjoyed the convenience of staying in their vehicles as volunteers removed bags of documents from their cars and placed them into shredding bins. Event participants were able to witness the document destruction and departed with bags containing identity theft prevention tips.

“We graciously thank our shredding and banking partners as well as media who helped us get the word out about our free shredding event”, said Ran Hoth BBB CEO and president of the BBB Serving Wisconsin. “We are thrilled to be able to help consumers and businesses lessen the chance of identity theft for the tenth consecutive year.”

Shredding personal information is a great way to minimize your chance of becoming a victim of identity theft, according to the BBB. In fact, most identity theft cases occur after personal information has been lost or stolen, which is why the BBB encourages people to dispose of unneeded documents responsibly.

BBB’s next ShredFest event will be held in fall. For the date, time and locations of our next event and for more information on preventing identity theft visit our website.