Hey, we can't fault anyone for taking advantage of mass paranoia, and it seems that Colorado Springs-based JRP Enterprises, Inc. is about to cash in on the growing threat of identity theft. The Self-Service Shredder will be built, distributed, and marketed by RealTime Shredding, and thanks to a recent patent grant, it looks like it'll have exclusive rights to do so. The kiosk sports a 2.5-horsepower motor, LCD display, and has the ability to chew through paper (200 pages per minute, no less), cardboard, credit cards, paper clips, staples, CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks. Current installations include banks, offices, malls, military bases, and schools, and while we're not quite sure how much it'll take to get one in your place of work, those $1 per two minute shredding sessions could really add up.

Watching the digits in front of your dedicated spam folder grow isn't entirely enthralling, and to be honest, witnessing just how much junk email you receive on a daily basis can actually be somewhat infuriating. The Spamtrap provides a much more tactile and satisfying way to demolish said waste, as it disregards the delete command and gets straight to the dirty work. The installation interacts with spammers by monitoring several email addresses, and once any spam is received, the Pentium II-based machine "automatically prints and shreds" the garbage so you can really tell the spam whose boss. Subsequently, the system then feeds blacklists with the information it receives in an attempt to further clean up the web for other individuals without such extreme means of purging their inbox. And for those environmentally conscience folks who are on the edge of irate, yes, the creator does go the extra mile by recycling the paper that inevitably gets wasted. Hit the read link for a video demonstration.

[Via BoingBoing]

So you're the type who must be ready to purge all trace of your existence at a moment's notice, eh? Then check it secret agent man, 'cause USB Geek, as only they can, are offering the USB mini Paper Shredder and, uh, letter opener for those of you given a number without a name. Capable of throating 4.8-inch wide paper and shredding it to 0.13-inch bits, this pup can be powered off USB or even 4 x AA batteries when you need a bit more disposal oomph. Get your $32 pre-order in now 'cause odds are, you won't live to see tomorrow.