HOW SAFE ARE SHREDDING SERVICES?

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times – you need to look after your confidential waste. This applies to domestic paperwork as much as it does to business documents.Leaving your sensitive paperwork in a drawer at home or a cabinet at the office will quickly lead to clutter, confusion and – worst of all possible scenarios – compromising your personal and commercial data security.

Shredding for security

When it comes to protecting your physical documents, shredding is by far the safest, simplest and most convenient way to destroy sensitive material.In other posts, we’ve covered what sensitive documents need to be shredded, the reasons why they should be shredded and what you should do with the shredded waste.While there’s little argument over the effectiveness of shredding in principle, in practice it’s only as effective as the company that is carrying it out. In this post, we’ll take a look at the different types of shredding services currently available on the market so that you can be sure that you’re choosing the safest one possible.

High street shops

One of the cheapest shredding options is to take your confidential documents to an office supplies, stationery or printing shop. A common sight on high streets and in shopping centres up and down the UK, they offer the use of their shredders or facilitate the shredding of your documents by a third party.While this service appears cost-effective and efficient on the surface, behind-the-scenes security is often lacking. Sensitive paperwork is often left unlocked in store cupboards for days at a time. There have even been instances where burglars have specifically targeted the shredding bags; a testament to how valuable confidential data is to modern criminals.The reality is that these types of high street shredding services, while relatively cheap, do not have the highly trained staff or stringent security standards that professional shredding services have. If you want to be sure that your confidential waste is professionally handled and securely shredded, you’d be well advised to look elsewhere…

Professional shredding & recycling centres

If you want to get true peace of mind when destroying confidential waste, you’ll need to look to the pros. Professional shredding facilities have the expertise, experience and industry accreditations to provide you with the most secure service possible. Unlike a high street shop or small-scale office shredder, shredding facilities have industrial shredders that completely pulverise documents, CDs, credit cards and many other confidential materials. Some of the best companies can even save you the trouble of moving your paperwork by collecting your files from your office or your document storage facility.

Confidential Waste Console

Confidential waste disposal bins are also another great way to ensure your business documents are safely stored and securely destroyed. These lockable bins collect sensitive office paperwork and can be regularly emptied and shredded by your shredding service provider. While this is not particularly relevant to domestic users, it’s a great way for businesses to stay on top of their confidential waste with minimum effort.

Choosing the safest shredding service

So now that you know the benefits of a professional shredding service, you’re going to need to know how to spot the best shredding service provider out there. There are a handful of qualifications and indicators that a shredding company should have to ensure they are offering the safest possible service.If the shredding service provider does not have all of the following industry accreditations, you should definitely think twice before entrusting them with your confidential waste. Even if they are offering an unbelievably cheap service, you may end up paying a much higher price in the long run.

Shredding service checklist: 

•     Certificate of Destruction for peace of mind
•     Waste Carriers Licence from the Environmental Agency
•     DBS checked staff to ensure secure and professional handling
•     GDPR & Data Protection compliant
•     BS EN 15713:2009 accreditation for the Secure Destruction of Confidential Waste
•     ISO 9001/ISO 27001/ISO 14001 accreditations for quality management and environmental responsibility.
•     Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) compliance

Flexible Storage’s shredding service is fully aligned and compliant with all of the above qualifications and regulations. As well as adhering to the highest possible industry standards, 100% of their shredded waste is recycled at a licensed UK paper mill. In fact, for every tonne of paper waste that they recycle, approximately 17 trees are saved! Get in touch with the Flexible Storage team today to see how a professional, safe and cost-effective shredding service can benefit you.