The City of Griffin is offering free document shredding for residents on Saturday.

The Community Shredding Event is open to all City of Griffin residents said Central Services Director Phill Francis, “as a give back to the community, to folks who don’t have a shredder, as a safe way to get secure documents destroyed.”

Francis said this would offer “peace of mind to people concerned about identity theft, by offering a secure way to discard, in confidence, all of your old documents and important papers you may no longer need, so no one can get a hold of them.”

The city partnered with Joe Johnson of Shred-X, a Griffin business, for the shredding event, Francis said.

A document or certificate of destruction will be available for those who ask, he said. To be fair to all residents, he asked that participants please limit the amount brought in to three banker boxes, which he said is about the size of a case of soft drinks.

The event will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the City of Griffin Regional Recycling Center, 1515 Industrial Drive, Griffin. “We will have it set up as a drive through with people there to help unload,” Francis said.

Francis said, “take U.S. 19/41 south, turn right onto Kalamazoo Drive, then make a left onto Industrial Drive. It is behind the metals recycling center.”

Participants are asked to take the papers out of plastic binders or metal clips but staples are OK. “We want to keep it to paper documents,” Francis said.

“This is a pilot program,” he said, “something we may do every year, depending on turnout, as a way to give back to our residents who have been supportive of the recycling program. It is our little way of saying thank you.”

The service is being provided for only residents but not commercial businesses. “Hopefully we’ll be able to do one for businesses in the future,” Francis said.

For more information, call the Griffin Solid Waste Division at 770-229-6421.