Keep Newton Beautiful (KNB) invites Newton County residents to bring paper documents to its next Paper Shred Event at the Newton County Library parking lot (left side, 7116 Floyd St., NE) on Monday, April 22, from 9 a.m. until the shred truck is full for free on site shredding. This event is sponsored by KNB in partnership with Newton Federal. Each person will be limited to 5 standard-sized boxes of paper.

This event will be contactless. KNB asks all participants to remain inside their vehicles. Participants should place paper in cardboard boxes in the trunks of their cars or in the beds of their trucks and allow volunteers to remove the boxes.

KNB, the local affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, provides environmental education and beautification programs in Newton County. KNB is holding the community paper shred day as an Earth Day Event, and all paper collected will be recycled.

According to KNB Manager Laurie Riley, “KNB’s Paper Shred Event offers a convenient service at no cost to Newton County residents, who can safely and easily dispose of confidential documents without the worry of identity theft.”

Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22. Earth Day was started in 1970 in San Francisco as a day for people to reflect on the Earth and the environment. It was initially celebrated on March 21 to coincide with the vernal equinox and the first day of spring. It has developed into an internationally celebrated day for environmental education and earth-friendly events such as recycling events, litter cleanups, and planting flowers and trees. In 1971, Senator Gaylord Nelson announced an Earth Week for the third week of April to be celebrated annually.

KNB’s first community Paper Shred Event was held for Earth Day in 2014, with more than 4 tons recycled. At its record-setting shred event in April 2021, KNB collected over 10 tons of paper in only three hours. KNB plans to continue to coordinate free community paper shred events twice a year and is seeking additional sponsors to offset event costs. For more information about this and other events, visit www.keepnewtonbeautiful.org or call 770-784-2015.