Updated November 2026 · Southern New Hampshire
Shred or recycle? What goes in the bin and what gets shredded first
Shred or recycle is the wrong choice to frame, because the safe answer for anything personal is both: shred first, then recycle the shred. This post shows you which paper can go in the bin whole, which must be shredded first, and how Portsmouth, Merrimack, Hampton and Exeter each want shredded paper handled.
99¢ per pound at our Tewksbury drop-off. Every pound we shred is recycled.
- 99¢ per pound
- 100% of shred recycled
- Since 2007
- BBB A+
Quick answer
Recycle paper whole only when it carries nothing personal: flyers, catalogs, newspapers, blank paper, envelopes without your account details. Shred first anything with a name next to an account number, a Social Security number, health details, a signature or client information, then let the shred be recycled, because recycling saves fiber but does not destroy information. New Hampshire Document Shredding does both in one step at its Tewksbury office for 99 cents a pound plus $34.90 per job, with every pound of shred recycled, and our residential shredding page covers the household service in full.
Shred or recycle: two jobs, not one
People ask us whether they should shred or recycle as if the two were rivals. They do different jobs. Recycling turns old paper into new paper. Shredding turns readable paper into strips nobody can read. The first protects the environment. The second protects you.
A whole sheet in a recycling cart stays readable for a long time. It sits at the end of the driveway overnight, rides in a truck, and gets tipped, sorted and baled before it is pulped. Anyone along that path who picks up your bank statement can read it. The cart was never designed to keep secrets, and nobody promised it would.
Shredding first fixes that without costing the planet anything. The fiber still goes to recycling. It just arrives as confetti instead of as a document. At our Tewksbury office, every pound we shred is recycled, so paper you bring to us ends up in the same place it would from your bin, minus your account numbers.
So the useful question is narrower. For each piece of paper, does it need shredding before it is recycled? Most of your mail does not. A small, important slice of it does, and that slice is what this post is about.
The one-question test for shred or recycle
You do not need a list of 200 document types. Ask one question of each sheet: could someone use what is printed here to pretend to be me, reach my money, or learn something private about me or a client? The diagram turns that question into three quick checks.
“Name plus a number” is the heart of it. Your name alone on a catalog is harmless. Your name next to an account number, a policy number, a Social Security number or a signature is a tool for fraud. The FTC’s identity theft advice tells consumers to shred financial records before throwing them away, and to black out account numbers with a marker if no shredder is handy.
The health and client check catches paper that doesn’t look financial but is just as private: an Explanation of Benefits letter, a lab result, a tenant application, a client file you kept from a side business. If you aren’t sure, shred it. Paying 99 cents a pound for a sheet that didn’t need it is a cheap mistake.
What can go in curbside recycling and what must be shredded first
Here is how the test sorts the paper that piles up in a typical New Hampshire house. Your town’s recycling rules decide what the bin accepts. This table decides what the bin should never see whole.
| Paper | Shred or recycle | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Newspapers, magazines, catalogs, store flyers | Recycle whole | Nothing personal beyond an address label you can tear off |
| Blank printer paper, manuals, greeting cards | Recycle whole | No personal data |
| Bank, credit card and brokerage statements | Shred first | Name, address, account numbers, spending |
| Cancelled checks and unused checks | Shred first | Routing and account numbers, often a signature |
| Tax returns, W-2s, 1099s past their keep date | Shred first | Social Security number and income |
| Medical bills, EOBs, lab and pharmacy printouts | Shred first | Health details and insurance numbers |
| Prescreened credit offers and convenience checks | Shred first | Can carry your name and partly filled application details |
| Pay stubs, benefit letters, insurance policies | Shred first | Employer, income, policy numbers |
| Old credit and debit cards, X-ray film, discs | Neither bin nor paper box | Not paper. Bag them as media and we quote them |
Recycle whole
Newspapers, magazines, catalogs, junk flyers, cereal boxes, blank paper and plain envelopes. This is most of your mail by weight. Our post on what junk mail to shred sorts the borderline pieces.
Shred first
Anything financial, medical, legal or tax-related with your name on it, plus any client, patient or tenant paper. Shred it, then the shred can be recycled, either by your town or by us.
Neither
Plastic cards, X-ray film, CDs, USB sticks and old phones. They don’t belong in paper recycling or a paper shredder. We physically destroy media and quote it per item.
One shortcut for the address label: tear the label or the address panel off a magazine and put just that strip in the shred pile. The rest of the magazine goes in the bin. The same trick works for catalogs and most junk mail.
How New Hampshire towns handle shredded paper
If you shred at home, the strips still have to go somewhere, and New Hampshire towns do not agree on where. Loose shreds blow around when a cart is tipped into the truck, so each town sets its own rule. Some want shreds bagged in paper, some want them boxed, and some don’t take them in recycling at all.
The four towns below show the range. We took each rule from the town’s own website, and the links are in the Sources section. Rules change, so check your town’s page before you put shreds out.
Notice the one thing they share. Where a town takes shreds in recycling at all, it asks for paper or cardboard, never plastic.
| Town | Shredded paper rule | What the town page says |
|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | Paper bag or sealed cardboard box, with paper recyclables | Put shreds in a paper bag and staple or tape it shut, or secure them inside a cardboard box and seal it, so they don’t blow around during pickup |
| Merrimack | Paper grocery bags, single stream at the transfer station | The single stream flyer lists shredded paper in paper grocery bags, and lists plastic bags as not accepted |
| Hampton | Paper bag or cardboard box, never plastic | Clean, dry paper can be recycled whole or shredded. Put shreds in a paper bag or cardboard box, and do not use plastic bags |
| Exeter | Not accepted in curbside recycling | Shredded paper is on the not-accepted list. The page advises that when in doubt, it is best to throw it out in your household trash |
Exeter is the town that surprises people. Its curbside program takes mixed mail but not shredded paper, so a household that shreds at home ends up throwing the shreds out with the trash. Paper you bring to us whole is shredded and recycled at our end, which keeps it out of the Exeter trash entirely. Our document shredding Exeter NH page has the details for that town.
Portsmouth, Hampton and Merrimack residents can recycle home shreds if they bag them the town’s way. Our town pages for shredding in Portsmouth, document shredding Hampton NH and document shredding Merrimack NH cover drive times and pickup prices for each.
Shred first, still recycled
Shredding with us does not take paper out of the recycling stream. It just takes your information out of it.
- Cross-cut shredding at our Tewksbury office, the same business day for drop-off paper
- No need to remove staples, paper clips, rubber bands or file folders
- No bagging rules to learn. Bring paper whole in boxes or bags
- A Certificate of Destruction with every job
If you shred at home before you recycle
A home shredder is a fine tool for this week’s mail. It gets tiresome for a closet of old files. If you do shred at home, a few habits make the shreds safer and keep your recycling hauler happy.
- Use a cross-cut machine. Strip-cut shredders leave long ribbons that can be lined up again. Cross-cut cuts both ways. Our post on paper shredding security levels explains the difference.
- Mix the shreds. Empty the bin after shredding junk mail too, not only statements. A bag of one statement’s strips is easier to piece together than a bag of mixed paper.
- Bag it your town’s way. Stapled paper bag in Portsmouth, paper grocery bag in Merrimack, paper bag or box in Hampton. In Exeter, shreds go in the trash.
- Never use plastic. Merrimack lists plastic bags as not accepted, Hampton asks you not to use them, and Portsmouth asks for paper or cardboard. A plastic bag of shreds is trash, not recycling.
- Know when to stop. If the shred pile is more than a box or two, your time and your shredder’s motor are worth more than our per-pound rate. Bring it in.
Some people ask about burning paper in a woodstove or fire pit instead. We don’t recommend it, and our post on burning documents vs shredding explains why. Shredding plus recycling is cleaner and leaves no half-burned pages behind.
For businesses, recycling whole is not an option
A household that puts a statement in the recycling takes a risk with its own information. A business that does it with customer records may be breaking a federal rule. The FTC’s Disposal Rule covers any business or individual that uses a consumer report for a business purpose, including landlords, employers, lenders, insurers, car dealers and attorneys. The FTC’s examples of reasonable measures include burning, pulverizing or shredding papers so the information cannot be read or reconstructed.
The FTC’s guide for businesses goes further. Its “Pitch it” principle says to dispose of paper records by shredding, burning or pulverizing them before discarding. A recycling dumpster behind the office is discarding, so the shredding has to come first.
Medical, dental and therapy offices carry their own duty under HIPAA. Paper with patient information has to be protected until it is destroyed, and HHS guidance names shredding as an acceptable way to make it unreadable. A Business Associate Agreement is available on request.
The simplest office habit is a locked shred box beside every recycling bin. Anything with a customer, patient or employee name goes in the box. Everything else goes in the bin. When the box is full, it comes to us or we collect it.
Offices with more than a few boxes usually book a pickup. Our how document shredding works post follows a box from your office to our shredder to the recycling bale.
What it costs to shred first and recycle
You pay for shredding by weight, and the recycling is built into the $34.90 per-job fees, which cover the Certificate of Destruction paperwork and the environmental fee for recycling the shred. The chart compares bringing boxes to Tewksbury with a Seacoast pickup, the zone that covers Portsmouth, Hampton and Exeter.
For a household on the Seacoast, the pickup fee is the biggest number on the bill, so drive if you can. From the border towns the drive is short: our office is on Route 38 near I-495, about 15 minutes from Salem and Pelham. Businesses with 10 or more boxes often find the pickup worth it once staff time is counted. The full price list is on our shredding rates page, and for towns not named here the zone is confirmed when you book.
Free community shred days are the other option. Towns, banks and credit unions host them, mostly in spring and fall. They suit a household with a box or two and no deadline. For everything else, the drop-off runs every weekday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Frequently asked questions
Should I shred or recycle old documents?
Both, in that order, for anything personal. Shred any paper that shows your name with an account number, a Social Security number, health details or a signature, then recycle the shreds. Paper with nothing personal on it, such as flyers, catalogs and blank paper, can go in the recycling whole.
Can shredded paper go in curbside recycling in New Hampshire?
It depends on the town. Portsmouth wants shreds in a stapled paper bag or a sealed cardboard box. Merrimack takes them in paper grocery bags at the transfer station. Hampton accepts them in a paper bag or cardboard box. Exeter’s curbside program does not accept shredded paper. Check your own town’s page.
Why can’t I put shredded paper in a plastic bag?
Merrimack’s flyer lists plastic bags as not accepted, Hampton asks residents not to use them, and Portsmouth asks for a paper bag or a sealed cardboard box. A plastic bag of shreds ends up as trash. Use a paper bag stapled or taped shut, or a cardboard box, where your town takes shreds at all.
Is recycling a safe way to get rid of documents?
Not on its own. Recycling saves the paper fiber but does not destroy the information. A whole statement can be read anywhere between your cart and the mill. The FTC tells consumers to shred financial records before throwing them away. Shred first, then recycle.
Is the paper I bring you recycled?
Yes. We shred everything at our Tewksbury office with cross-cut shredders, and 100 percent of the shred is recycled. The $19.95 environmental fee in the $34.90 per-job fees covers recycling the shred. You don’t need to bag shreds or learn any town rule.
Do I need to take staples and clips out first?
No. Leave staples, paper clips, binder clips, rubber bands and file folders in. Take out three-ring binder hardware and hanging-folder frames. Plastic cards, film and discs are not paper. Bag them separately and we quote them per item.
What does it cost to shred instead of recycling?
At our Tewksbury counter, 99 cents a pound under 10 boxes plus $34.90 per job. One banker’s box of about 30 pounds comes to about $64.60. At 10 or more boxes you pay $15 per small or $20 per large box. A Seacoast pickup adds $199.95.
Can a business recycle customer records without shredding?
Not safely. The FTC Disposal Rule requires businesses that use consumer reports to take reasonable disposal measures, such as burning, pulverizing or shredding paper so it cannot be read or reconstructed, and the FTC’s business guide says to shred paper records before discarding. Medical offices have HIPAA duties too. Shred first and keep the certificate.
Sources
- City of Portsmouth, Shredded Paper Instructions (checked November 2026)
- Town of Merrimack, Single Stream Recycling flyer (checked November 2026)
- Town of Hampton, Transfer Station (checked November 2026)
- Town of Exeter, Recycling (checked November 2026)
- Federal Trade Commission, Disposing of Consumer Report Information? Rule Tells How (checked November 2026)
- Federal Trade Commission, What To Know About Identity Theft (checked November 2026)
Shred it and recycle it in one stop
Box the paper that fails the test and bring it down whole on any weekday. We shred it at our Tewksbury office, recycle every pound and hand you a Certificate of Destruction. No bags to staple, no town rules to check.
Where we shred
1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876. Route 38, near I-495. Free parking out front.
Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Witnessed sessions and pickups outside these hours by appointment.
- Drop-off: walk in, 99¢ per pound
- Pickup: from $129.95 by zone
- Witnessed: $1.99 per pound, $100 minimum
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.