I have had several people ask me what they can do with their shredded paper. Many of them don’t want to simply throw it away. I can understand the desire to re-use the paper rather than waste it. This desire may be driven by environmental concerns or simply because people want to try something new. Here are a few suggestions that customers have passed along to me.

A lot of these suggestions will depend entirely on whether or not the paper shredded contains highly sensitive information or not. Take that into consideration.

Top Seven Best Shredded Paper Recycling Ideas

1. Animal or Pet Bedding – Many customers have told me that they have used their shredded paper for animal bedding for bird cages, hamster cages and more. Many animal shelters will also use shredded paper. I have been told that cross-cut paper doesn’t work as well because there is too much paper dust that aggravates the animals. I have had customers buy strip cut shredders (found here) purely for the purpose of shredding paper for animal bedding.
2. Gardening Compost – I can’t give you the exact recipe, but I have had people tell me that they use their shredded paper (since it is mostly organic anyway) in a compost pile mixed with veggies, leaves and other bio material. They swear by it. Can’t say I’ve tried this myself.
3. Packaging Material – Much like cardboard shredders, many people like to use strip cut paper for packaging material. This may be fore the E-bay entrepreneur or for warehouse operations. Again, cross cut paper doesn’t work as well for this one.
4. Paper Recycling – Some paper recycling plants will accept and recycle shredded paper. The problem is that many will not take the paper because it may contain metal fragments such as staples or paper clips that makes recycling next to impossible.
5. Moisture Absorption – I have read about people putting a little shredded paper in the bottom of their kitchen trash to soak up moister, helping cut down on odors.
6. Fire Kindling – Let’s face it. If you’re camping, paper is a great way to start up a campfire. Shredded paper lights up even faster.
7. Floor Cleanup – I have had people that tell me they will sprinkle cross cut shredded paper on the floor to clean things up. This may be to soak up oil on a garage floor. Some people have told me that it binds well with hair, dirt and other material often found in workshops, gymnasiums, barber shops and other floor surfaces where it can then be swept up.

Hopefully these ideas help you get the most out of your shredded paper. Are you in need of a shredder? You can find our entire selection of paper shredders here.

Have you ever considered recycling your shredded paper? Although recycling shredded paper, as compared to non-shredded paper, is more complicated, it can be done. Many people also use their shredded paper as compost.

If you have properly destroyed sensitive information, you can take those shredded particles and recycle them. If you shred a lot of paper, or work for a large business, you may want to consider a shredder baler. Shredder balers shred dozens of sheets of paper at once, compact the particles and bale them. The bale looks much like a bale of hay you would see at a farm.

Baled paper is very dense. It is easy to transport with a cart or a hand truck. The baled paper can be stored in a warehouse or loaded on a truck where it can later be recycled. One bale of paper, usually about the size of a box, contains the equivalent of several bags worth of shredded paper.

Shredder baler combinations vary in size. Some can fit in an office environment, where others will fill a small warehouse. Shred services often use shredder balers in their trucks due to the limited space. Shredder balers vary in the amount of papers they can shred at any given time. Some high-volume shredder baler combinations can shred up to 400 sheets of paper at once.

Old cardboard is usually thrown away, incinerated, or thrown into a compactor. The owner of the cardboard will usually never see it again. Cardboard also takes up space and gets in the way. There is now a way to take that cardboard and turn it into free packaging material. This saves you both space and money while allowing you to be environmentally friendly by recycling old cardboard. This is a viable alternative to foam packaging
peanuts that make a mess and are non-biodegradable.

Since most warehouses receive boxes, packages and goods on a daily basis, there is usually an ample supply of new boxes. Many warehouses will be able to eliminate packaging peanuts altogether due to the continued supply of boxes. Because boxes are free or cost very little, money is saved by cutting back on other packaging materials. With gas costs on the rise, many warehouses see the need to turn to cost-saving practices such as cardboard shredders.

The process of taking cardboard and shredding it into packaging is very simple. Old unused cardboard is first run through a slitter that cuts the cardboard down to the ideal size for the shredder. Once the cardboard has been cut to size, it is then run through the cardboard shredder. The shredder takes the corrugated cardboard and cuts it into a waffle-like packaging material. The shredded material resembles an accordion
and is very pliable, allowing it to be easy molded around different objects. The finished product can be easily placed into a container for secure packaging.

The cardboard shredder itself has a small footprint and will easily fit in almost any warehouse. All shredding operations can be done in-house and the machine only requires one person for operation. Most people that use the shredded product are very impressed with how easy it is to use and how effectively it shreds the cardboard. Free shredded cardboard samples are available upon request.

You can see one of the many cardboard shredders available through a demo by going here.

An entire list of cardboard shredders can be found here.