April 25, 2024

UMW to Host Shred Event, March 29

Do you have old files or bulky documents to get rid of? Bring them to the university’s Shred Event on Tuesday, March 29 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Fredericksburg and Stafford campuses. Mobile trucks equipped with industrial shredding equipment will destroy office materials at the Stafford campus parking lot and at the UMW parking lot on William Street at Sunken Road.

Materials acceptable for shredding include office paper, folders, paper clips, staples, binder clips, spiral bound notebooks, checks, checkbooks, and credit card slips. Examples of unacceptable materials are newspapers, magazines, cardboard, three-ring binders, CDs, DVDs, hard drives, floppy disks, videotapes, data tapes, items wrapped in plastic, metal or plastic objects, paper that has been wet, X-rays and MRI images.

When collecting items for destruction, faculty and staff are expected to adhere to state policy on shredding confidential documents.

The public is invited to bring documents to the Shred Event. Neighbors and friends are encouraged to participate in this community-wide, eco-friendly initiative. Please note the per-person limit of five boxes of materials.

PROSHRED of Northern Virginia, based in Sterling, is charging no fee for providing staff and mobile shredding trucks for the event. Its staff will place the contents of each box or bag in a secured, wheeled cart and take it to the truck, where the cart will be mechanically lifted to the shredder. PROSHRED will transport the shredded paper to a recycling facility. Anyone using bags, boxes or other containers to bring their materials for shredding will be responsible for recycling, reusing or properly disposing of these containers.

The shred event could give a big boost to UMW in the national RecycleMania competition that kicked off Feb. 7 here and at universities nationwide. Materials brought for shredding by faculty, staff and students will count toward the total weight of UMW’s recyclables for the eight-week RecycleMania contest.

By making the Shred Event a success, faculty and staff will help steer the university toward greater sustainability.

Recyclemania Off to a Strong Start

Recyclemania kicked off at UMW and on other university campuses across the country February 7, and UMW students, staff and offices recycled a whopping 6,993 pounds of materials during the first week of the annual nationwide competition.

That’s nearly double the amount of UMW recyclables collected the previous week, showing that friendly competition can change the mindset of campus communities as UMW moves toward a more sustainable future.

Throughout the eight-week competition, the President’s Council on Sustainability, Facilities Services and the student-run Ecology Club will push the UMW community to recycle as much as possible in an effort to win the national competition while encouraging a more sustainable campus.

The Copy Center, Post Office and Bookstore are accepting used printer cartridges which will be recycled, and the Post Office will accept cardboard boxes for reuse or recycling. The Bookstore also is showing the Ecology Club’s Recyclemania commercial on in-store screens.

Assistant Vice President of Business Services Erma Baker has been doing her part to participate in the competition. “I have practiced recycling, have avoided printing when possible, and used a UMW Bookstore water bottle instead of a plastic bottle,” Baker said. She said the business services staff currently is revising its mission statement to emphasize sustainability.

As Recyclemania continues over the next two months, remember to recycle all glass, aluminum, plastics, cardboard and mixed paper!