CU Recycling offers document destruction collections for up to six boxes.

CU Recycling picks up your small quantities of materials for destruction (up to six boxes per campus department) and stores them securely at the Grounds and Recycling Operations Center for destruction by a shredding company.  The charge for this service is under $20 per pick-up, for up to six boxes (standard copy paper size, approximately 12" x 18" x 9"high), and can be requested by filling out our online request form. Contact Recycling@Colorado.edu with questions.

Have more than six boxes worth of materials to destroy? Contact our recommended vendor.

Shredded paper in plastic bags

If your department shreds your own materials in your office, CU Recycling can pick up your shredded paper for recycling as long as you follow these guidelines:

  • We can accept only white and light colored shredded papers.
    • Before shredding, first separate and remove dark and bright colored paper, plastic or any other non-paper item.
    • If contaminants such as bright colors or plastics are mixed in with your shredded paper, we are not able to remove them so none of your paper can be recycled.
  • Please bag and seal your shredded paper into a clear bag, tied shut, before placing it in or next to a campus recycling bin.
    • This allows us to keep your shredded paper separate from the rest of our materials.
    • If shredded paper ends up on our recycling sorting lines, it can bind up the equipment and inhibit the recycling process.

Zero Waste Tips For Material Reduction

Use a permanent black marker to block out confidential information (check the back of the paper and mark on that side too if necessary), then recycle the paper in regular recycling bins.

If there is only a small amount of sensitive information on your documents, tear off only that portion of the paper for shredding, recycling the remainder of the paper in a regular paper recycling bin.

Generate more than six boxes of materials for document destruction or need a cart to store materials?

If you have more than six boxes to destroy, or would like to place a cart in your department for storage of materials to shred, you are encouraged to contact Bayaud Enterprises, a supplier of secure and verified confidential destruction of documents with state price agreements.  After researching several companies, Bayaud Enterprises is recommended by CU Recycling because:

  • Materials are sorted by Bayaud for "highest and best use" to remove recycling contaminants before shredding, baling, and shipment for recycling.
  • Bayaud will provide CU Recycling with weight tickets for all material collected from campus, allowing for more accurate campus recycling diversion rates.
  • They currently service the CU Boulder campus every other week (with a possibility of more frequent trips) and can design a regular collection route to minimize truck traffic and related environmental impacts on campus.
  • Boxes and lockable carts (upon request) are collected by uniformed, bonded employees and taken to a secure facility where workers with disabilities are employed.
  • For large quantities of material (more than 6 boxes) Bayaud's state agreement prices are currently less than CU Recycling's fees when more than 6 boxes are collected (Bayaud current pricing - downloadable pdf)

To arrange service with Bayaud, please contact Susan Williams Robinson, 303-830-6885 or visit Bayaud's website.  Note that materials to be picked up must be located in an elevator or ramp serviced area, no stairs.

For a list of all suppliers who currently have State of Colorado price agreements for data destruction, Click Here.

If your department needs secure short-term or long-term storage of confidential materials, visit the CU Distributions Center's website.  

The Distribution Center can also make shredding arrangements for materials no longer needed to be stored there, or have them recycled if they are no longer sensitive materials.  For more information about the Distribution Center's storage services, email invorder@colorado.edu.