Emory Report
February 7, 2005
Volume 61, Number 18

 




   
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February 7, 2005
Recycling program now shreds documents

Barbara Stark is manager of training and communications for facilities management

Emory now offers safe and convenient document- destruction services through Facilities Management’s (FM) recycling department. FM Recycling provides for secure transfer of documents to the Emory Recycling Center, where they are destroyed using a high-volume shredder and added to other recyclables.

The University has joined with neighboring CDC, which already has found FM’s document destruction program to be a cost-effective solution to recycling confidential
materials.

There are several benefits to using Emory’s in-house service rather than a third party: First, FM Recycling is an award-winning program; second, removing the middleman ensures all funds are directed back into improving and developing services for Emory; and third, the on-campus program promises timely delivery, quick pickup and customer satisfaction.

The service is ideal for units that generate large volumes of confidential documents, especially if those files must periodically be purged. It’s been introduced to Emory hospitals and clinics—departments that could recycle more often but hesitate due to security concerns.

The new process provides customers with locked security carts, each of which is individually numbered and tracked, that are outfitted with a slot large enough for convenient document deposit (soon FM will add smaller, less bulky bins for on-site use). Once a container is filled, the customer simply contacts FM Recycling to arrange for pickup.

To maintain security, the locked carts are transferred directly to the high-capacity shredder using a specially designed lift. Typical shredders slice papers into strips, but FM employs a rotary waste grinder, taking the shredding process a step further. The grinder chews up paper, paper clips and staples at a rate of 2,200 pounds per hour, turning them into a pile of paper pulp. Because these byproducts are small, they do not compress well into bales and therefore are mixed with other shredded paper recyclables for baling, transport and sale. Once the documents are destroyed, the customer is presented a certificate of destruction that ensures confidentiality was maintained.

FM’s standard fee for the service is $35 per 95-gallon cart, however larger purging jobs involving several carts can be quoted at a discount. If they wish, customers can witness the destruction process themselves; anyone interested in a tour of the recycling center, or who has questions about shredding or other recycling programs, should contact John Scheve, recycling supervisor, at 404-727-2052, or Claire Wall, recycling program coordinator, at 404-712-8921. More information can be found at www.fm.emory.edu/recycling/recycling.html.

Barbara Stark is manager of training and communications for Facilities Management.

 

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