I have owned a small number of shredders in the past, both manual and electrical ones. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. Generally speaking manual shredders are inexpensive, with electronic powered devices often costing more, also with more potential problems! I came across the Tesco Value 7litre Paper Shredder and Bin and I thought it would give me the best of both worlds, with the inexpensive pricetag and the electrical operation!

Priced at around £9 it isn't a very expensive electric powered shredder so I didn't get my hopes up too much with the results. I expected the speed to be a little pedestrian, with sheet quantity to also be limited. This shredder is said to take five sheets at a time, but I find this can be a struggle so I only usually put two or maybe three sheets through it at any one time. One thing I have learned with basic shredders like this is that you should never ask too much of them.

The shredderitself isn't cheap or tacky looking and does look more than £9 worth of gadget. The black plastic 'lid' of the shredder is fairly plain, with just the shredder instruction/warning decals to break the colour up. The 'bin' is also plain black and overall the look is quite smart. Tesco have ensured they keep costs to a minimum as far as looks are concerned, as the opinion will ultimately be formed on the performance of the shredder in action.

As I have briefly covered, this shredder will happily chomp away at two or three sheets of paper at one time. It isn't brisk at such a task, but it does carry it out reasonably efficiently. I have tried feeding the shredder thin strips of cardboard, but this isn't advised and I certainly wouldn't recommend relying on being able to do such a thing.

Operation is very simple. There is an 'On/Off' switch on the shredder which is pretty much self explanatory. All you need to do then is feed the paper you wish to shred gently into the slot at the top of the unit. Shredding commences and the sheets are shredded to 7mm strips - more than adequate for shredding bills and written documents. If a sheet of paper does become stuck in the mechanism you can use the 'reverse' button in order to try and help the shredder out. If the paper still won't budge then I have in the past had to resort to taking the shredder away from the 'bin' and giggling the paper free from the other side. It is advised you switch the power off at this point to avoid any nasty surprises.

Other than the minor issues with paper jams and the fact this isn't a heavy duty unit I am pleasantly surprised with the efficiency of the Tesco Value shredder. The price is certainly something that will attract the eye, though you may then question how good this shredder actually is. The answer is that overall the Tesco Value 7litre Paper Shredder and Bin is well worth the £9 pricetag. Looks are not everything, and with a simple operation and a not too forceful hand, I am sure you will both get along very well.