GREENSBORO, N.C. — The 2024 WFMY News 2 Shred-A-Thon broke all the records! The Greensboro Coliseum Complex counted 1233 cars going through the line to shred their personal documents for free, thanks to PROSHRED-Raleigh.
The four shred trucks were stuffed after serving about 900+ cars. To make sure all parties could be served, WFMY News 2 put the overflow documents in two trucks, which were then locked and taken to a locked facility overnight. The next day, our 2 Wants To Know team went to the PROSHRED facility to make sure all the documents were shredded.
"That's the most paper we've ever seen at a shred, was there in Greensboro," said Jim Klems of PROSHRED-Raleigh.
The documents from the two trucks were loaded on pallets and taken to the massive shredding machine. First, it is all dumped onto a conveyor belt and into a chipper the size of a car! The paper rains down in big pieces and goes through another shredder, which pierces and tears it, and then it is compacted into a paper bale of about 2,000 pounds.
"The bales are then taken to a pulp mill in Rockingham County where they turn the paper into recycled materials that are then made into tissues you would have in your house," said Klems.
The 2024 shred is expected to top 60,000 to 70,000 pounds which equals 30 to 35 tons. All of that paper couldn't have been shredded without the help of the Brothers from Omega Psi Phi, the Tau Omega Chapter. They volunteer every year and show off their servants' hearts and muscles.
Shredding documents with ANY personal information on them is necessary. Trashing them is an identity thief's dream. They put together pieces and parts to come up with enough information to open up credit cards and get loans. Shredding is an easy way to help protect your identity. We hope to see you in 2025 for our next Shred-A-Thon.