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GREENWICH, Conn. Greenwich residents lined up at town hall in late April to make sure their sensitive documents were destroyed and recycled at Earth Shred 2012.
The First Bank of Greenwich in Cos Cob teamed up with Santaguida Sanitation to sponsor the event, intended to promote safe recycling of sensitive documents including bank and brokerage statements, cancelled checks and anything with a social security number.
Frank Gaudio Sr., vice president of The First Bank of Greenwich, said in a release, "This is a means to protect personal information from identify theft scams while saving our trees so they can be left to do their job of continually absorbing CO2 from air pollutants and producing clean air. This is a global issue and we can help right here in Greenwich."
Confidential Shredding LLC has presented event sponsors with a certificate confirming they saved 84.5 trees, which equates to approximately 10,000 pounds, or 5 pounds of paper. After the event, Santaguida Sanitation recycled another 1,000 pounds of cardboard boxes left by participants after dumping their paper.
Jimmy Santaguida, third generation in the Santaguida trash and recycling business in Greenwich, said in a release, "Paper is on the list of items to be recycled in Greenwich. Since shredding is the most efficient means to safeguard personal data, we encourage this process and support recycling the shredded paper to keep it out of the waste stream." The average American consumes seven trees a year in wood products and paper, Santaguida added.
The First Bank of Greenwich rewarded participants with reusable grocery bags and refillable water bottles to reinforce the bank's environmental message and commitment to recycling.
Another paper recycling event is being considered for early October. The First Bank and Santaguida Sanitation plan to coordinate through Greenwich Recycling Advisory Board, which initiated the April event.
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