This information was compiled by the PII-Program team in conjunction with MIT's Procurement Office.

Shredding Services
If you have routine shredding needs, particularly of multiple page documents, a shredding service is strongly recommended. The typical company will provide locked containers free of charge, which you can fill with paper or mixed media (paper, binders, CDs, VHS tapes, etc). They charge when they take the bin away (and give you an empty one.) You should also receive a certificate stating that they will securely destroy materials.

Information on shredder bins and shredding services can be found in the Resources section of this site.

Shredding Your Own Documents
If you want to do your own secure shredding, at a minimum you need a 'cross-cut' shredder (also called 'confetti cut,' 'diamond cut,' 'micro cut'). Such shredders generate small pieces of paper vs. strips, since strips of paper can, in theory, be reassembled and reveal their secrets. For most MIT business documents, cross cut shredded paper is sufficiently secure that it can be put in MIT's paper recycling bins.

Fellowes makes a number of shredders including 'personal' (which can also work well in offices with low volume shredding requirements) and 'small office.' Fellowes personal shredders can sometimes be found in retail stores (e.g. Costco) for under $100. There are 3 Fellowes shredders we've highlighted from the Office Depot catalog:

• Intellishred PS-79Ci (541155)
• Intellishred SB-89Ci (541575)
• Intellishred SB-99Ci (541815)

To view these shredders, click on the thumbnail images below:

If you want to compare these or other models, consider using the Office Depot 'compare and save' function on their web page. For those with purchasing authorization, you can place an order through Ecat.

Last updated February, 2009