New Yorkers shred away bad memories during ninth annual Good Riddance Day

NEW YORK, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- New Yorkers all over Times Square are shredding away their bad memories from 2015 during the 9th annual Good Riddance Day.

The event held every year in Times Square invites people to write down any bad memories or negative feelings from the past year and toss them into a giant Shred-it mobile shredding truck.

All the embarrassing, heartbreaking and sad memories will then be recycled into confetti when Times Square rings in 2016 on Friday. Paper was also made available for the public to jot down any nasty memories from 2015 and have them shredded.

"GoodRiddanceDay is happening at 12pm! Join us in shredding the forgettable memories of 2015 & starting fresh," the official Twitter account of Times Square noted on Sunday.

Maureen Dexter of Washington kicked off the festivities when she won a contest to be the first person to shred her bad memory. Dexter chose to destroy a weight loss "before" photo after she lost 70 pounds. President of the Times Square Alliance Tim Tompkins chose to shred a photo of Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump next to a logo of the event.