Identify theft is a personal threat to us all, that’s’ why shredding your private and confidential personal and office papers is a must! With a huge push from society to be environmentally conscious, protecting your private information and recycling shredded paper documents goes hand in hand.

What Happens When You Put the Paper Shreds in the Recycling Bin?

Many council areas accept shredded paper, as long as it’s contained within your recycle bin. To ensure your shredded paper isn’t diverted to landfill, keep your shredded paper free from plastic bags. Sydney councils are committed to resource recovery, that’s why everything collected from your recycling bin is sifted through and then separated out into papers, plastics, metals, and items that cannot be recycled.

How Can You Recycle Shredded Paper?

While recycling companies usually don’t accept a few sheets of paper shreds from individuals, large-scale shredding activities produce large piles of shredded paper that recycling companies can easily manage. So when you go for a professional shredding service, your paper shreds will most likely be recycled.

There are several ways to recycle shredded papers. Before we move on to the local recycling services in your area, let’s first have a quick look at how you can recycle your paper shreds at home:

  • Fill the boxes with shredded paper when packing fragile materials.

Fill a box with 1-2 inches of shredded paper. Then put your items over it and space them out evenly so that they don’t collide with one another. Then fill the spaces between the items with paper shreds so they don’t move when you carry them from one place to another.  In this way, you can recycle your paper shreds and protect your fragile items from breaking. You can also use paper shreds for filling gift bags or gift boxes. However, make sure that none of the confidential information on the shredded paper is readable if you’re using it to fill packages for others. 

  •  Use your paper shreds to provide nutrients to plants

Paper shreds contain carbon, which helps plants grow better by adding nutrients to the soil. All you have to do is put the paper shreds into a compost bin along with other food waste so they can break down. Try to maintain a balance of 25 parts paper to one part vegetable and food waste so that the compost has a high carbon to nitrogen ratio. Also, don’t use glossy or coloured shredded paper since they may contain chemicals that would negatively affect the balance of the soil.

  • Use the shredded paper for pet bedding

If you have a small pet, such as a rat, mouse or guinea pig, then you can use shredded paper to make their bedding. In order to do so, mix equal parts of your shredded paper and your pet’s bedding so it slowly adjusts to it. Layer the bottom of the cage with this mix and replace it with a fresh one once it gets soiled. Paper shreds also make a good add-in or alternative for pet litter as they can absorb moisture and odours.

If you don’t own any pets or can’t do any of the above activities, then the best option you have is to contact your local rubbish remover who will make sure your paper is taken to a recycling company.

When shredding paper:

  • Make sure you read the user manual and operate the shredder with safety.
  • When emptying the paper shredder, put the paper shreds in a large container so that you can easily take them to your recycle bin.

If you’re a business and you need to make sure your documents have been destroyed correctly, ask to be issued with a certificate of destruction.

How do Recycling Companies Recycle Shredded Paper?

At Cheapest Load of Rubbish your shredded paper, books, newspapers and cardboard are all placed in our paper baler ready to be taken to the recycling centre. Baled paper is then shredded and mixed, at high speed, with water to create paper fibres. These fibres are screened and cleaned to remove staples, plastic and dirt, then heated to remove glues and inks. Once this step is complete, the diluted pulp is mixed with additives which in turn can be used to create new products like newspapers, cardboard cartons and cardboard boxes.

How Cheapest Load of Rubbish Can Help You?

Our highly skilled team of professionals strives to provide our customers with the most environmentally friendly solutions to all their waste disposal problems. It is our commitment to work towards achieving a brighter, cleaner, and sustainable future,  not only for our generation but also for generations to come. In keeping with the same, we provide recycling services for all kinds of waste materials, including shredded paper. With our established hand-loading and sorting process we recycle up to 80 percent of the waste we collect. This results in a massive save on rubbish that goes straight to landfill sites and litters our beautiful country.

So if you’re located in Sydney and are looking for a waste management company to recycle your shredded paper, just give us a call and discuss it with our friendly team. We’ll handle the rest and make sure your shredded paper is recycled in the most effective way.