Bamberg County offers free paper shredding event May 14

Bamberg County residents had a free chance to clean out old tax records, bank statements and other sensitive papers Wednesday, when Shred360 set up a paper shredding event from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 498 Log Branch Road in Bamberg. The mobile shredding service limited each attendee to three boxes or three bags, a cap that kept the line moving while giving people a secure way to dispose of documents that could otherwise feed identity theft or fraud.

The event was held at the Bamberg County Office on Aging, a fitting site for a service aimed at protecting residents who are often targeted by scammers. The county office says its mission is to improve the well-being and quality of life for older adults in Bamberg County by offering activities and services that promote independence and continued community participation. It has served the county since 1975 and also houses Rhoad’s Senior Center and Bamberg County’s paratransit provider.

That broader service network includes home-delivered meals, a group dining site, physical fitness programs, Medicaid transportation and Handy Ride transportation. For many Bamberg County households, that makes the Office on Aging more than an administrative stop. It is one of the few local places where residents can handle a practical problem without leaving the county, whether they need meals, rides or a secure way to get rid of personal paperwork.

The event was hosted by Shred360 with support from the Lower Savannah Council of Governments, which serves Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties. LSCOG says its aging office works in partnership with the South Carolina Department on Aging and serves as the region’s officially designated agency under the Older Americans Act. That regional role has made aging services, transportation and community support a recurring issue in Bamberg County, where county leaders met with LSCOG on April 10, 2025, to discuss Meals on Wheels, senior transportation and community development block grants.

For Bamberg County, the shredding event was a small but practical piece of that larger system. In a rural county where commercial shredding can be costly or hard to find, a free one-day event gave residents a quick way to reduce clutter, protect private information and clear out documents that should not end up in household trash or recycling bins.