On Saturday, May 6 the Borough of Riverdale is hosting the Great Riverdale Shredding and Collection Day to help its residents clean out while also helping the environment. The Day combines two useful services for residents. The first service is free, on-site paper shredding. The second service is a “one-stop-drop” collection point for used and old electronics, Styrofoam, rechargeable batteries, used ink cartridges, and plastic bags. The event will be at the Riverdale Community Center on Loy Ave, from 9 to 12.  

Shredding larger quantities of paper at home can be time consuming. Additionally, some recyclers cannot process shredded paper in household quantities and send it to a landfill. To address these issues, the Borough contracted a commercial paper shredding company that provides the shredded paper in bulk to a recycler who can recycle it. The paper is diverted from the landfill and the Borough receives a report stating the quantity savings. The on-site shredding service offers a “win-win” – residents can have old files and papers shredded and disposed of quickly while the Borough reduces the waste stream.  

The Borough also saw the opportunity to help residents dispose of more items at the same time. It implemented a “one-stop-drop” concept with collections stations for used electronics, Styrofoam, rechargeable batteries, used ink cartridges, and plastic bags. These items are recyclable, but not collected in the Morris County recycling system. While the Borough collects electronics Monday through Friday and many retailers accept the other items, the convenience of disposing of multiple items at one stop is appealing due to the convenience. Once collected, the Borough distributes the items to the appropriate recyclers, stopping them from entering the waste stream. The event is a Sustainable NJ initiative and the Borough earns certification points.

“We recognized that on-site paper shredding would be a great service for our residents, and combining it with easy, quick drop off of non-standard recyclables is a big benefit. Not only are we helping our residents, we are reducing items entering the landfill,” explained Mayor Paul Carelli. The Borough held two pilot Shredding and Collection days in 2022 and collected significant amounts of electronics, Styrofoam, and shredded paper, among other items. Additionally, the Borough collected coat and jacket donations for the NJCares Coat Drive at the Fall Shredding and Collection Day.