Burlington Review

Burlington County residents will have the opportunity to safely dispose of confidential documents and special plastics at upcoming shredding events. The Burlington County Institute of Technology’s Westampton Campus, located at 695 Woodlane Road, will host these events on March 30 and May 4 from 9 AM to 1 PM, regardless of weather conditions.

These events are designed for residents to shred and recycle sensitive documents such as bank statements, credit card statements, tax returns, and papers containing account or Social Security information. Last year, similar events resulted in the shredding of 117,000 pounds of paper.

“Burlington County is excited to offer free programs that allow our residents to dispose of financial papers and sensitive documents in a safe and environmentally friendly manner,” said Burlington County Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson. “Moving the shredding event to this new, convenient location at BCIT-Westampton will hopefully encourage more residents to take advantage of this County service.”

The events are exclusively for Burlington County residents; identification is required, and only confidential papers will be accepted. Items like magazines, junk mail, household trash, binders, plastic folders, computer discs or plastic credit cards are not allowed. Each resident can bring up to four bags or boxes of paper weighing no more than 10 pounds each.

In addition to document shredding, clean and dry plastic materials will also be collected. Accepted items include plastic bubble wrap, shipping mailers, wrap from cases of water or paper products (bagged separately), and PakTech drink carriers used for aluminum cans (also bagged separately). These plastics should not be placed in curbside recycling bins due to potential damage they may cause to recycling center machinery.

Burlington County Commissioner Tom Pullion highlighted the benefits of proper recycling: “Every pound of paper and plastic we recycle correctly saves landfill space and reduces the tax dollars municipalities spend on disposal fees,” Pullion said. He noted that last year’s efforts saved municipalities approximately $3.9 million in additional fees by recycling over 80 million pounds of recyclables.

Residents can access more recycling information through the free Recycle Coach app available on both Apple App Store and Google Play Store. For further inquiries about recycling specifics, contact the Burlington County Recycling Coordinator at 609-499-1001 or email recycle@co.burlington.nj.us.