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Personal Info Ripped To Shreds

JOHN CEBALLOS/Tribune photo.

Brad Latham, left, owner of Curlie Joe's Shredding, helps Don Zion of Sun City Center load trash bags full of items to be destroyed into a trash bin.

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By JOHN CEBALLOS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 7, 2007

APOLLO BEACH - South Shore residents recently got the opportunity to dispose of all the paperwork clogging up their home storage space in a safe and secure way.

M&I Bank's SouthShore Branch, 5461 U.S. 41 N., hosted its first free ShredFest from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday.

"We're very involved in the community, and identity theft, which is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country, has become a major concern," said Christopher Peacock, retail banking manager for M&I Bank. "This is just one way that we can help people avoid trouble down the line."

The event featured an industrial-size shredder courtesy of Bradenton-based Curlie Joe's Shredding. More than 40 people took part in the event and about 2,500 pounds worth of paper was disposed of.

Area residents such as Betty Arnold of Ruskin brought many sensitive materials that had been taking up valuable space in her home.

"I brought my tax papers, some bank statements and receipts," Arnold said. "They got rid of them very quickly and very easily."

Visitors loaded their items into a trash bin, which was placed on a platform and raised into Curly Joe's truck, where it was dumped into the large shredder.

A camera allowed participants to watch their documents get destroyed from outside the truck.

According to Brad Latham, Curlie Joe's owner, the shredded remains will not go to waste.

"We're very adamant about recycling," Latham said. "Every piece of paper can be recycled up to seven times."

The machine is capable of shredding materials as strong as a three-ring binder, and the company routinely travels to Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties to offer its services.

"We probably visit businesses many times a month to help them with their shredding needs on a smaller scale," said Daniel Lyons, sales and operations manager for Curlie Joe's. "A big event like this, ShredFest we'll probably only do a few times a year."

M&I plans to host a ShredFest in each of its branches in the near future.

With the event, Peacock hopes to steer most of the bank's customers toward paperless banking, which he thinks will help decrease identity theft.

"This is the first time we've done this, and hopefully they will become popular," Peacock said. "If it is, I think we're going to have a few of these a year."

Reporter John Ceballos can be reached at (813) 865-1555 or jceballos@tampatrib.com.

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