Updated November 2026 · Southern New Hampshire
How to get rid of personal documents: every option, pros and cons
There are five real ways to get rid of personal documents in New Hampshire, and each one fits a different size of pile. Here is how to get rid of personal documents safely, what each method costs, where it falls short, and the two shortcuts you should skip.
99¢ per pound at our Tewksbury drop-off. Certificate of Destruction on every job.
- 99¢ per pound
- Since 2007
- BBB A+ rated
- No appointment for drop-off
Quick answer
The safe way to get rid of personal documents is to shred them, never to toss whole pages in the trash or recycling. For a few sheets a week, use a cross-cut home shredder. For a few boxes, use a free town or bank shred event if one is coming up, or drop them at New Hampshire Document Shredding in Tewksbury at 99 cents per pound plus $34.90 per job, about $64.60 for one banker’s box. For a basement full, book a pickup by zone. Our residential shredding page covers the household service in full.
Before you get rid of anything, sort keep from shred
The cheapest box to shred is the one you never fill. Ten minutes of sorting at the kitchen table shows you if the pile is a grocery bag or a car full, and that decides which method makes sense. The FTC published a simple keep-or-shred list in June 2025, and it holds up well.
| FTC category | Examples | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Keep for a year | Bank statements, pay stubs, undisputed medical bills, credit card and utility bills, deposited checks | Shred once the year is up, sooner if you can get them online |
| Keep at least three years | Tax returns and supporting records such as W-2s, 1099s, receipts and canceled checks | Shred after the IRS period for that return. Some situations need longer |
| Keep while you own it | Car title, home deed, loan papers, home improvement receipts, leases, warranties for major appliances | Shred after you sell, pay off or move out |
| Keep forever, locked up | Birth certificates, Social Security cards, passports, marriage and divorce papers, military records, wills, death certificates | Do not shred. Store in a safe or fire box |
| Shred now | ATM receipts, credit and insurance offers, cleared checks after 14 days, credit reports, old prescription information, expired warranties and IDs | Shred, do not recycle whole |
The IRS clock is the one people get wrong. The IRS says to keep records 3 years in the general case, 6 years if you left out more than 25 percent of your income, 7 years if you claimed a bad debt or worthless securities loss, and indefinitely if you never filed. Our guide on how long to keep tax records goes year by year, and our post on which documents to shred first ranks the riskiest paper.
Every way to get rid of personal documents, compared
Here is the short version. Five methods work. Two common shortcuts do not. The cards below give each method’s best use and its main drawback, and the sections after them go deeper.
Home shredder
Best for weekly mail and a few sheets at a time. Drawback: slow for boxes, and strip-cut models leave long readable ribbons.
Free shred event
Best for a few boxes when the date lines up. Drawback: seasonal, limits set by the host, and a line of cars on a Saturday morning.
Drop-off shredding
Best for 1 to 20 boxes any weekday. Drawback: you drive to Tewksbury, and the $34.90 per-job fee makes one bag pricier than shredding it yourself.
Pickup by zone
Best for large cleanouts, estates and anyone who cannot lift boxes. Drawback: the zone fee, $129.95 to $199.95, and it needs an appointment.
Witnessed shredding
Best for a small amount of very sensitive paper. Drawback: $1.99 per pound with a $100 minimum, about double the drop-off rate.
Trash, recycling, burning
Not recommended. Whole pages stay readable in a bin, and home burning runs into New Hampshire’s burning rules. Details below.
Shredding at home: pros and cons
A home shredder is the right tool for the daily flow: the credit card offer, the pharmacy printout, the bank notice. Shred it the day it comes in and the pile never forms. It costs nothing per sheet once you own the machine, and nobody else ever handles your paper.
The limits show up at volume. Home machines take a few sheets at a time, overheat after a few minutes, and jam on staples, folded statements and envelopes. Clearing a single banker’s box, about 30 pounds of paper, can take an afternoon.
Cut type matters most. A strip-cut machine slices pages into long ribbons that can be lined back up. A cross-cut or micro-cut machine turns them into small pieces. If you are buying, buy cross-cut. Our guide on what to look for in a paper shredder covers sheet capacity, bin size and duty cycle.
Pros
- No trip and no per-job fee.
- Paper never leaves your house.
- Good habit for mail as it arrives.
Cons
- Slow and noisy for boxes.
- Staples, clips and folders jam most machines.
- Strip-cut output can be reassembled.
Wondering when a service beats your own machine on cost? Our post on the cost of operating a paper shredder works through blades, oil, bags and your time.
Free shred events: pros and cons
Towns, banks, credit unions and community groups across New Hampshire host free shred days, often in spring and fall. You drive up with your boxes on the announced date and the host’s shredding crew takes them from there. For a few boxes, timed right, nothing is cheaper.
The catch is timing and rules. Events are seasonal, often on a Saturday morning, and they can close early when the truck fills. Each host sets its own limits on boxes per car and who may attend, so read the host’s page before you load the trunk. Ask whether you get any proof of destruction.
Pros
- Free for residents who qualify.
- Usually closer to home than Tewksbury.
- Good fit for two or three boxes.
Cons
- Only a few dates a year, near you or not.
- Box limits and lines vary by host.
- Proof of destruction depends on the host.
We do not run free events ourselves. We keep a current list of shred events across the state, and older residents can check our post on free shredding for seniors. For the other ten months of the year, drop-off is the fallback.
Drop-off shredding: pros and cons
Drop-off is the middle path for most New Hampshire households. Drive your boxes to 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, on Route 38 near the I-495 interchange, about 15 minutes south of the line at Salem or Pelham via I-93 or Route 38. Staff help you unload, weigh the boxes, and the paper is cross-cut shredded the same business day.
| Large boxes | Paper charge | Per-job fees | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 box (about 30 lb) | $29.70 | $34.90 | $64.60 |
| 5 boxes (about 150 lb) | $148.50 | $34.90 | $183.40 |
| 10 boxes ($20 each) | $200.00 | $34.90 | $234.90 |
| 20 boxes ($20 each) | $400.00 | $34.90 | $434.90 |
The pros: no appointment, weekdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., no sorting, and a Certificate of Destruction with every job. You do not need to pull staples, paper clips, binder clips, rubber bands or file folders. Pull three-ring binder hardware and hanging-folder frames. All of the shred is recycled.
The cons are the drive and the hours. If you live in Keene or Conway, or you can only get away on a Saturday, drop-off is hard to fit. The $34.90 per-job fee also means one small bag is not worth the trip. Save up and come with a full box or more. Our drop-off shredding page has parking and unloading details, and our post on how to prepare documents for shredding covers packing.
Pickup and witnessed shredding: pros and cons
When the pile is too big to move, or the person who owns it cannot lift boxes, pickup makes sense. You book a time, our driver collects the sealed boxes, and the paper is shredded at our Tewksbury office after it arrives. The shredding rate is the same as drop-off, plus a transport fee by zone.
Pickup zones
Zone 1 is $129.95 and covers the border towns such as Salem, Pelham, Windham and Plaistow. Zone 2 is $159.95 for greater Nashua and Manchester. Zone 3 is $199.95 for the Seacoast and points farther north. Other towns get their zone confirmed when you book.
Pricing assumes ground-level or elevator access. Stairs or tight access add a handling fee, quoted up front. Read more on our off-site shredding page.
Witnessed sessions
Some paper you want to see destroyed with your own eyes: an old will, a divorce file, a parent’s medical history. A witnessed session at our office is $1.99 per pound with a $100 minimum on the shredding, plus the $34.90. One box comes to $134.90. You watch it go through the shredder and the certificate is signed in front of you.
Our witnessed shredding page explains how to book a time.
Our honest take: pickup pays off at volume. Ten boxes picked up in Zone 2 come to $394.85, and you never touch a box after taping it shut. One box picked up costs $224.55 in the same zone, which is why we suggest driving a single box down if you can. For estates, our post on shredding after a death covers what to keep before the pickup.
Ways not to get rid of personal documents
Two shortcuts come up at the counter every week: the recycling bin and the backyard fire. Both feel like disposal. Neither reliably destroys what is printed on the page.
Trash or recycling, whole
A bank statement in the recycling bin is still a bank statement. It sits at the curb, rides in a truck and crosses a sorting line, readable the whole way. Shred first. Our post on whether to shred or recycle explains the difference.
Burning at home
RSA 125-N:4 bans residential open burning of household trash. Plain paper generated at a residence is excluded from that ban, but coated or laminated paper and plastic windows are not. RSA 227-L:17 also requires a written permit from the town forest fire warden for most outdoor fires unless the ground is snow-covered.
Tearing or blacking out
Tearing a page in four leaves big readable pieces. A marker works only for things you cannot shred. The FTC suggests marking out personal and medical details on a prescription bottle, not on a stack of statements.
Burning also tends to leave half-burned pages at the bottom of the pit, and a bound tax file rarely burns through. Our post on burning documents vs shredding covers the practical side.
Pick the method that fits your pile
Volume decides most of it. Measure in banker’s boxes: one is about 30 pounds of paper. Then follow the path below.
- Pull out the keepersSet aside birth certificates, Social Security cards, passports, deeds, titles, wills and anything still inside its tax period.
- Count the boxesPack the rest into banker’s boxes without pulling staples or folders. The count tells you which method fits.
- Handle the daily flow at homePut a cross-cut shredder by the mail spot and shred offers and receipts as they arrive.
- Check the event calendarIf a free event is a few weeks away and your boxes fit its limits, wait for it.
- Drive or bookOtherwise, bring the boxes to Tewksbury on a weekday, or book a pickup if there are too many to move.
- Keep the certificateFile the Certificate of Destruction with your records so you know what went and when.
Electronics are separate. Old computers, phones and USB sticks hold the same information as your paper. Bag them apart from the boxes and see our post on secure hard drive disposal. We physically destroy them and quote per item.
Frequently asked questions
What is the safest way to get rid of personal documents?
Shred them with a cross-cut shredder, either at home or through a shredding service, and recycle only the shred. Whole pages in the trash or recycling stay readable. For a few sheets, a home cross-cut machine is enough. For boxes, a free shred event or our Tewksbury drop-off at 99 cents per pound plus $34.90 per job is faster and gives you a certificate.
How much does it cost to shred one box of documents?
At our Tewksbury drop-off, one banker’s box of about 30 pounds costs $29.70 at 99 cents per pound, plus $34.90 in per-job fees, for $64.60. Five boxes come to $183.40. At 10 boxes or more, the flat rate is $20 per large box. A pickup adds $129.95, $159.95 or $199.95 depending on your zone.
Can I burn old papers in New Hampshire?
Be careful. RSA 125-N:4 bans residential open burning of household trash. Plain paper products generated at a residence are excluded from that definition, but coated or laminated papers are included. Under RSA 227-L:17, most outdoor fires also need a written permit from your town’s forest fire warden unless the ground is covered with snow. Shredding avoids both questions.
Are free shred events a good option?
For a few boxes, yes, if the date works. Towns, banks and credit unions host them a few times a year, often on Saturday mornings, and each host sets its own box limits and eligibility rules. Read the host’s page before you go, and ask whether you get any proof of destruction. For the rest of the year, drop-off or pickup fills the gap.
Do I need to remove staples and paper clips?
Not for our service. You do not need to remove staples, paper clips, binder clips, rubber bands or file folders. Please remove three-ring binder hardware, hanging-folder frames and anything that is not paper. Home shredders are different: most jam on clips and thick folders, so check your machine’s manual before you feed it.
Which documents should I never shred?
The FTC says to keep forever, and lock up, birth certificates and adoption papers, Social Security cards, valid passports and citizenship papers, marriage and divorce papers, military records, wills and powers of attorney, retirement and pension plans, family death certificates and vital health records. Keep tax records until the IRS period for that return has passed.
Do you have a drop box or office in New Hampshire?
No. Our only location is 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, about 15 minutes south of the NH line at Salem or Pelham. You can drive boxes down on a weekday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., book a pickup by zone, or book a witnessed session. Call (978) 636-0301 with questions.
What should I do with an old computer or phone?
Treat it like paper with more on it. Back up what you need, then have the drive physically destroyed rather than relying on a quick delete. Bag devices separately from paper boxes and tell us when you book. We physically destroy drives, phones, USB sticks and CDs and quote them per item.
Sources
- FTC: Protecting your personal information, which documents to keep and which to shred (checked November 2026)
- IRS: How long should I keep records? (checked November 2026)
- FTC: What To Know About Medical Identity Theft (checked November 2026)
- New Hampshire General Court: RSA 125-N:4, residential open burning of combustible domestic waste (checked November 2026)
- New Hampshire General Court: RSA 125-N:2, definitions (checked November 2026)
- New Hampshire General Court: RSA 227-L:17, fire permits (checked November 2026)
Get the boxes out of the basement this month
Sort out the keepers, box the rest without pulling staples, and bring it to Tewksbury on any weekday. If there is too much to move, book a pickup by zone. Either way you get a Certificate of Destruction.
Visit or call
1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876. Route 38 near the I-495 interchange, about 15 minutes south of the NH line. Free parking out front.
Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Witnessed sessions and pickups outside these hours by appointment.
Three ways to shred: walk-in drop-off at 99¢ per pound, pickup by zone, or a witnessed session at $1.99 per pound.
New Hampshire Document Shredding · 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876 · (978) 636-0301 · Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.