Shredding event has been scheduled for Saturday

It’s planned to begin at 9 a.m. in Commercial Appeal’s parking lot

The Commercial Appeal is hosting a special shredding event this week to allow people to prevent identity theft by destroying unneeded personal documents. The event will be in the front parking lot of The Commercial Appeal’s building at 495 Union Ave. in Downtown. It’s scheduled Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon or until trucks are full.

It’s dubbed the “BBB Secure Your ID day” after another sponsor, Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South.

Organizers are asking people to bring unneeded papers that have personal, financial or medical information. Such information might include bank account numbers, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and medical explanation of benefits statements.

Visitors don’t have to get out of their vehicles. Workers will take the papers and shred them.

Other sponsors include Shred-it Memphis, Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance and the Tennessee Highway Patrol Identity Crimes Unit.

The limit is five boxes or bags of documents to be shredded. Organizers say you don’t have to remove staples, paper clips or manila folders, but you do have to remove paper from binders.

Organizers say the workers cannot shred binders, cardboard, magazines, plastics, hard drives, computer discs or electronics. The event is free. For more information, call the Better Business Bureau at 901-759-1300.

Reach reporter Daniel Connolly at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.