Cintas to Provide Employees a Secure, Faster Alternative to Dispose of Documents

A new, secure way to dispose of paper materials on campus will save employees time and contribute to recycling efforts. Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 11, the Physical Plant will replace the blue recycling bins on campus with 26 secured, locked containers from Cintas Document Management.

Each container will hold about 350 pounds of paper. The project is spearheaded by the Physical Plant and supported by S.T.A.N.D. (Students Taking Action in Nature's Defense).

“Using Cintas containers will save the campus community time and money and give departments a safe, reliable and environmentally friendly way to dispose of confidential documents that are now shredded,” said Rick Porto, Vice President for Administration and Fiscal Affairs.

Shredding will no longer be required by departments. Disposing of documents through Cintas will help employees save the prep time required for shredding. Staples, rubber bands, folders and paper clips do not need to be removed before placing items in the Cintas containers.

Confidential documents that are currently shredded by departments on campus can be securely discarded in the locked Cintas containers. Magazines, catalogs, reports, contracts and records are just some of the types of documents that will be accepted. A complete list of items that can be placed in the container will be attached to each container.

Cintas Document Management is AAA Certified by NAID, ensuring compliance with the most stringent operational security procedures in the industry. Once placed in the containers, materials are never touched by human hands. On a set schedule, the paper in the containers is collected by Cintas, shredded via their secure mobile trucks and weighed. A Certificate of Destruction and proof of service will be provided for all material shredded by Cintas.

One hundred percent of the shredded material is recycled, helping to keep the environment free of waste. The securely shredded paper is picked up by GP Harmon and delivered to a paper mill to be recycled into new paper products. Cintas reports that their annual recycling efforts save an estimated 4.36 million trees.

 “This initiative should provide us with very helpful data about the amount of paper being recycled on campus,” said Dr. Erica Harvey, faculty co-advisor for S.T.A.N.D. and a co-author of the 2010 REAP grant to increase recycling on campus funded by the state Department of Environmental Protection. 

Cintas will also aid departments with larger-scale document disposal. Cintas will come to the location to securely remove the documents for destruction and recycling. Departments that need to purge a larger quantity of documents at one time should e-mail Lenora Montgomery at Lenora.Montgomery@fairmontstate.edu with the following information: number of boxes or bags of documents that need to be purged, location of documents and fund and organization numbers. A minimal fee will be charged to the department for large purging jobs.

The Physical Plant will coordinate a pick-up schedule with Cintas. Employees who notice a full container on campus should e-mail Lenora.Montgomery@fairmontstate.edu.

RecyclingCintasRick PortoS.T.A.N.D.Erica Harvey