BBB to host shred day Saturday

Published 5:00 am Friday, September 27, 2019

If you got sensitive documents or old computers taking up space in your home, the Better Business Bureau will happily take them off your hands.

The BBB is teaming up with AARP and local community sponsors to offer a free shred day event Saturday. The event runs from 9 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of Athens Middle School at 100 U.S. 31 in Athens.

Accepted items include:

• Up to three large boxes or bags of documents for shredding;

• Anything that plugs in or runs on batteries for electronic recycling; and

• Unused prescription medication or over-the-counter drugs (excluding needles or liquids).

The Athens-Limestone Recycling Center will also take televisions, including the old CRT variety, for a fee of $10.

Tricia Pruitt, regional vice president of the BBB, noted the last Athens shred day was held in November and temperatures were in the 20s. This weekend’s high will be in the mid-90s. Still, she’s expecting a good number of people will take advantage of the drive-thru service.

“We at the Better Business Bureau provide this, along with our partners, as a public service to the community to help protect identities and the environment,” she said.

Pruitt said someone turned in fentanyl at last year’s drug take-back event. She added the Athens Police Department took great care to ensure no one was exposed to the drug, which can be lethal with just a touch.

“This is just a safe way to get rid of medicine,” she said. “There are no questions asked, and we don’t write down car tags.”

About 200 people participated in last year’s shred day, but Pruitt anticipates there will be more this year because Huntsville is not doing a fall shred day. She praised the work of the volunteers who will be collecting items from residents’ vehicles.

“Everyone works together to do this, and it’s very rewarding,” she said. “People are so appreciative of the service.”

For more information, call 256-355-5170.