Disposal of paper bank statements etc

[Petrushka]

I've got very many years worth of paper bank statements and utility bills which urgently need disposal and wonder what the best way is of doing this.

Shredding is not a viable option as i'd still be at it into the next century so it has to be security safe as well as eco friendly. Is it ok to just throw the lot in the blue recycling bag? I wouldn't have thought it secure to do so so that looks a non starter. Burning them would be the quickest option but I've no means of doing that (oh for the days of a coal fire!) and it's probably not environmentally friendly.

Any ideas?

[Cockney Sparrow]

I've had to do the same.

I used a metal ruler to guide tearing statements into partly diagonal strips (I tear into about 4/5 of them) top to bottom. Keep the various strips apart as they pile up. Put each of the strip bundles into different recycling collections.

Alternatively, perhaps burning?

[oddoneout]

See if there is a shredding service for domestic(not contract office/bulk) papers in your area.

[eighthobstruction]

put in black bag and add oil/lard, muck , crap, chemicals, sand, , compost....paint....put that in stronger black bag

[Frances_iom]

why worry about utility bills ? - surely any more than 6months old can't even be used as support of residence -

[Pulcinella]

why worry about utility bills ? - surely any more than 6months old can't even be used as support of residence -

Identity fraud?

[Rjw]

Put them in a bucket of water for a few days, then compost them.

[ardcarp]

Cross the English Channel (or some other large stretch of sea) in a smallish boat and chuck a few overboard at a time.

A personal note: I have opted to continue receiving paper statements, and they go to my accountant at the end of each financial year. When he returns them, I screw up half-a-dozen at a time and use them to light our log fire. They last long enough to use for that purpose until the warmer weather kicks in. Probably not the greenest option.

[Petrushka]

For those advising to 'burn them', it's not quite as easy now as it once was when everyone had a coal fire and anything remotely burnable ended up being tossed on the flames. Many areas are smokeless zones nowadays and I've no wish to upset neighbours by creating polluting smoke and ash or risking a fine from the green police.

To be honest, I'd love to burn them as it's by far the easiest and quickest option.

[gurnemanz]

The Stasi pulped paper files by the ton when the Wall came down and there were still loads of left over.

[kernelbogey]

See if there is a shredding service for domestic(not contract office/bulk) papers in your area.

There are such firms equipped with vehicles which will come to your house and shred on site.

[french frank]

To be honest, I'd love to burn them as it's by far the easiest and quickest option.

According to Wandsworth Council: "Smoke control legislation does not apply to garden bonfires." The offence might be one of public nuisance if anyone complained. I recommend shredding bit by bit, or ripping off any identifying information and putting in with waste paper to be recycled. I can consult my statements online back to May 2016 so there's no need to store them at all. And in any case I've just gone paperless now by diktat of the bank .

But I had this problem when I wanted to dispose of 20 years of tax/income documents (and I misread the online advice and didn't keep the required number of years and lived in fear until I'd built up the right number).

[oddoneout]

There are such firms equipped with vehicles which will come to your house and shred on site.

Do they do small domestic disposals - I thought they were for bulk loads for business etc.

[kernelbogey]

Do they do small domestic disposals - I thought they were for bulk loads for business etc.

I understand so - a friend had used shred-it, who came to her house in a small village in Hampshire. I've no personal experience (yet) of them.

[smittims]

I cut out any useful information like account numbers, then put them in the recycling bin. The bits of paper with the info on, I soak them in water for a week then pull them into bits and squeeze the result into a ball which goes in the rubbish bin.

It sounds laborious but it's a job to do if you're listening to a long piece of music and want something to do with your hands.