An environmentally friendly paper shredder - is there such a thing?

Question

I'm looking to get one for the office

Answer 1

Depends on what you do with the shredded paper after. If it composted or recycled thats fine.

But not if it goes to landfill

Answer 2

For speed, I'm a 'tear it up with your fingers before putting in the recycle bin' kind of person myself. However, Tim H posted a great suggestion for composting sensitive information; I think I'll give it a go myself!

Answer 3

You can still recycle shredded paper but just make sure that nothing else goes in there... staples or credit cards, still cut the credit cards but just into a different trash bag... have an extra bag you can switch out.  Most recycle companies will have the paper go through a magnet and shaker to get the "non paper products" out so don't worry if you don't do that.  You should also look for one that has a power saving mode when not in use and can do multiple pages at one time so you don't run it alot.  Seeing as how it is for an office there is probably some financial information so it might be best if you find one that shreds in to confetti instead of strips.

Answer 4

The nearest you'll get to environmentally friendly is to rip it up by hand, though as already said there are hand-cranked ones.

Answer 5

Gerbils. Seriously! I used to have a colony of about 6 and they chewed up all our paper and card. When we cleaned them out we put the shredded stuff onto the compost heap. Other than that a hand operated one is probably the only realistic option. Depending on how much you want to shred you may need to get an electric one anyway.

Answer 6

sure it's called a dog

Answer 7

The method I use is to tear up documents, then put them in a bucket of water in my kitchen. After 2 days i put them in my compost bin! Works a treat!

Answer 8

Yes, Scissors.

Answer 9

yes, a shredder called shred junk mail.  They pick it up, shred it, and then recycle it.

Answer 10

your hands... for ripping

Answer 11

Sure - the most environmentally-friendly one would be one that was hand-cranked rather than having to draw power. Although there is no such thing as a completely environmentally-friendly one - the manufacturing process would still use plastic, electricity, etc.

Answer 12

I think they are called dogs.