AARP New Mexico to Host Two Free Community Shredding Events with Santa Fe Adding Free Medication Disposal

AARP New

Mexico will be conducting two free document shredding events -- one in Santa Fe and one in Las Cruces – both taking place Saturday, Oct. 26.

The event in Santa Fe, however, will have a special combination. AARP New Mexico is joining forces with the New Mexico Department of Justice, which will offer safe disposal of prescription drugs, as part of Drug Take Back Day. Both services will be drive-through.

“We are very excited to combine these two events,” said Gary Williams, AARP New Mexico, Associate State Director of Community Outreach. “It is very important to prevent fraud by shredding your sensitive and financial documents, but it is also imperative that prescription medications also safely be disposed of.”

Santa Fe
The Santa Fe event will be held Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for both document shredding and prescription drug disposal. It will be at the Santa Fe Place Mall, on the southside, near the Regal movie theater parking lot. Please follow the signs and traffic cones.

For shredding, participants are limited to two bankers’ boxes of materials or garbage bags. The event runs on a first come, first served basis, until 2 p.m. or until the trucks are full.

For prescription drug disposal, syringes, sharps or illicit drugs will not be accepted. Liquid medicines, such as cough syrup, should remain in their original container tightly sealed.

Las Cruces
The Las Cruces shred event will also take place Saturday, Oct. 26, at Wal-Mart, 571 Walton Blvd, 88001, but from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. only. The same rules apply -- participants are limited to two bankers’ boxes of materials or garbage bags. The event runs on a first come, first served basis, until 12 p.m. or until the trucks are full.

“Criminals keep getting more and more sophisticated in how they target consumers so any step we can take to make that a little harder, including safely disposing of sensitive documents, matters,” Williams said.

“That is why AARP New Mexico, in partnership with AARP’s Fraud Watch Network, offers free community shred events in the spring and fall. We want to make sure people have the option to get rid of those documents, which can be expensive if you do it through a professional service, he said.

“In Santa Fe, adding in safely disposing of medications is just another helpful service that we are happy to support the Department of Justice with,” Williams said.