For the first time in the seven-year history of Miami ShredFest, at the end of the Oxford event, we filled the mobile shredder from Document Destruction!

Once again the Miami community showed it cares about reducing clutter and preventing identity theft with 135 people attending this year’s ShredFest, and providing nearly 9,000 pounds of paper to be shredded. The total weight of 8,950 surpassed the 8,400 pounds collected last year. The was even more impressive considering the attendance was down this year, especially at the Hamilton and Middletown campuses, due to less than ideal weather conditions.

ShredFest was held at the Oxford, Middletown and Hamilton campuses. A mobile shredder from Document Destruction was on hand to provide secure, on-site shredding of both University and personal documents. Representatives from IT Services and the Office of General Counsel assisted with the shredding process, as well as working with attendees to make sure all University documents had reached the proper retention limit, and that the Records Disposal forms were completed.

The annual event, co-sponsored by IT Services and the Office of General Counsel, was held in Oxford on Thursday, May 11 and in Middletown and Hamilton on Tuesday, May 9.

According to Connie Johnson, data security analyst within IT Services, outdated paper documents can pose a significant risk for identity theft. “Anything that has a signature, an account number, social security number or medical information poses a risk. During ShredFest people drop off old bank statements and checks, ATM receipts, credit card receipts, address labels from junk mail, old utility bills, and outdated tax forms just to name a few items,” noted Johnson.

Johnson says that providing an annual shredding service for the campus and for the community helps to cut down the risk of data loss and provides a secure way to dispose of sensitive documents. “When people drop items off at the event, they tell us it gives them a sense of relief to finally get rid of old documents they no longer need and peace of mind that they are disposed of securely,” she said.

Plans for next year’s event are already underway. One change being considered is moving the day the shredder visits the regional campuses back to the Monday after finals week. Hopefully this will allow more faculty and students to take part in the event. Unfortunately, the weather cannot be controlled.