AFSAC reaps reams during clean-up day

  • Published
  • By Daryl Mayer
  • 88 ABW Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  It was springtime in November for the Air Force Security Assistance Center as employees emptied file cabinets, hold boxes and closets from stem to stern.

And due to a recent innovation, this clean-up was done with peace of mind.

Like any other organization on base, AFSAC processes tons of paperwork with unclassified but nonetheless sensitive information. In addition to the normal privacy act, personal and 'for official use only information,' AFSAC's foreign military sales mission requires it to handle and protect an array of information about recent sales to international partners.

"Our partners expect us to keep this information private and we have an obligation to do so," said John Corcoran, AFSAC Security Manager.

That is the prime reason the center maintains a 100 percent shred policy on all paperwork leaving the facility. In the past, the workforce has borne the brunt of that burden. But, a series of changes has made that a thing of the past.

Mr. Corcoran contacted the Base Recycling Center and discovered that with recent equipment upgrades, that facility could now offer the shredding capability AFSAC needed. He then picked up 18 lockable recycling bins. Now, when an employee slides a document through the slot in the lid of the bin, he knows it will remain secure and in government hands until it is fed into a shredder.

"It gives piece of mind to people because they don't have to worry about sensitive information falling into the wrong hands," said Mr. Corcoran. "Plus, they really like that containers are all over the building, it's convenient."

Once the paper is shredded, the recycling center sells the paper to a local recycling company and the sale proceeds are returned to the base. During the clean-up day, AFSAC filled more than a dozen 65 gallon bins with paper.

"It really is a win-win situation for everyone," Mr. Corcoran said. "We don't have to pay a contractor to haul this stuff off and the base is earning money."

The new shredder at the recycling facility has been up and running for six weeks and keeping pretty busy, according to Charles McCreary, recycling operations manager.

"We're killing three birds with one stone, which is pretty good," said Mr. McCreary. "First, the organizations save money, we keep a lot of paper out of the landfills and we're making money back by selling the paper. That's not too bad."

With the market currently paying $300 per ton for the shredding paper, Mr. McCreary expects the base will exceed the $466,000 they received for fiscal year 2007.