DENVER -- More than 125,000 pounds of documents were shredded Wednesday as people lined up all day long to drop off their old papers and have them properly destroyed for free.

The "Get The Shred Out" event, co-sponsored by 7NEWS, the U.S. Postal Service and the Denver/Boulder Better Business Bureau, provided an opportunity to have papers containing important and identifiable information properly shredded and destroyed. Financial statements, personal correspondence and other records were dropped off throughout the day.

Some people didn't just bring in their own documents. 7NEWS met a business owner who moved into a new space and found boxes full of personal information left behind. He turned them in for shredding.

"Destroying sensitive documents you no longer need is one of the simplest ways to avoid identity theft," said Dale Mingilton, president and CEO of the Denver/Boulder Better Business Bureau.

The event was held in the parking lot of the 7NEWS studio as part of National Consumer Protection Week.

If you missed the free shredding event, there are still plenty of options to make sure your personal information is safe once it goes into the trash.

Local stores told 7NEWS that shredders are in big demand, especially this time of year when prepping for tax day forces people to go through their home offices.

As you find files to toss, protecting your identity is critical.

Stores such as Office Depot offer a variety of home shredders, ranging from $30 to more than $300. They can handle everything from paper statements to data CDs to credit cards. All of them make your data unusable for would-be thieves.

"Shredding those into the small crosscut shreds or micro shreds helps deter theft," said Kimberly Cose, of Office Depot.

If you don't own a shredder, or if you need to shred large quantities of documents, there are several companies in the metro area that will do that for a fee.

To find accredited shredding companies, visit the Web site for the Better Business Bureau.

The theme of this year's National Consumer Protection Week is "Dollars & Sense: Rated A for All Ages" and highlights the importance of using good consumer sense from grade school to retirement. The BBB and the U.S. Postal Service are promoting free resources to help people protect their privacy, manage money and debt, avoid identity theft, understand credit and mortgages, and steer clear of frauds and scams.

For more information visit the NCPW Web site, or the U.S. Postal Service/Postal Inspection Service Web site.