JOPLIN, Mo. — The Big Bear Shredder visited Joplin.

The Joplin Recycling Center held its annual paper shredding event.

It saw many residents waiting inside their vehicles in line to take advantage of this service.

They can bring in their unwanted trash or important documents, like unused credit card checks, wage and earnings statements, or utility bills that they no longer need.

Recycle Center officials say shredding these documents can help prevent identity theft.

“People are afraid of their identification and their addresses and important numbers getting stolen, this will prevent that,” said Scott Patterson, Joplin Recycling Center Coordinator.

If you missed today’s event, you can drop off those unwanted documents at the recycling center anytime.

The center will then transfer them to the owners of the Big Bear Shredder to be disposed of.