NJ County Offering Free Shredding to Boost Recycling Levels

The cost of the project will be around $20,000, and will come as part of a grant of about $120,000 the MUA will receive from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

One of the key reasons the authority is looking to offer free shredding is the goal of boosting recycling levels in the county. According to Diane Leonik, planning and development director for the MUA, a number of county residents have expressed concerns about identity theft, and feel that disposing of material, rather than leaving the material on the curb for recycling purposes, reduces the chance for ID theft.

At the same time, Leonik says that the collection of ONP continues to decline while junk mail and other fibrous materials increases, making it more important to reach the state of New Jersey’s 50 percent recycling goal for this year.

The county submitted a grant to the NJ DEP in late December, and expects to have the money available by late spring. Once the money is obtained the county will look to line up a vendor to perform shredding services throughout the county. Leonik says that the agency hopes to have the first shredding event in the late spring.

Leonik says that the county has had some discussions with another county that tested out the project, as well as a recycler.

At the present time the collected material is shipped to FCR. From there the fibrous material is processed and sent to a paper mill in West Virginia.

According to local press reports, from July 2004 to June 2005, the MUA collected 16,300 tons of recycled paper for which it is currently getting $75 a ton.

Cape May County includes 16 communities has a seasonal population of around 600,000, with a year round population of around 100,000.