Getting rid of confidential waste securely is an important consideration for all businesses. In many cases, sensitive information is stored on paper. Partnering with a secure paper shredding company can help you dispose of private documents, promote sustainability in your business and save you time and money in the long run. Read on to learn more about the many benefits of using a shredding company.
What is professional document shredding?
Professional document shredding services use industrial-grade shredders that turn paper into confetti, so it cannot be reconstructed and used for identity theft and other forms of crime. The purpose of disposing of documents in this way is to prevent sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands and to manage corporate waste in an environmentally-friendly way. While these services can be suitable for domestic use, they are most widely utilised for corporate purposes.
How does document shredding work?
Here at Highlander Security Shredding, we follow a reliable process that ensures your documents are disposed of with maximum safety and efficiency:
Collection – lockable bins, cabinets, large enclosed containers or sealed bags are supplied for regular offsite shredding collections.
Transportation – we’ll transfer all offsite shredding material into our secure GPS tracked and alarmed vehicle before sealing for transportation.
Shredding – documents will be securely shredded at our depot.
Certification of destruction – you’ll receive a certification of destruction as a guarantee that documents have been shredded in line with industry standard requirements.
Recycling – all paper will then be recycled
The benefits of using a shredding company
There are countless benefits of using the services of professional document shredding companies. These include:
Save time and money
In-house paper shredding can be a time-consuming process that detracts from other important tasks. Industrial shredding, on the other hand, can process a high volume of documents in very little time. For example, bins full of documents can be destroyed in minutes, in comparison to shredding them individually or in small batches throughout the day. Additionally, your employees won’t have to waste time feeding them through the shredder, removing staples and cleaning up paper pieces – you will be able to fully maximise the productivity of your workforce.
Using paper shredding services can also save you money in the long run. While you may believe that purchasing your own shredding equipment and handling document disposal yourself is the less expensive option, this is usually not the case. The costs associated with manual labour, equipment and employee training will accumulate quickly – not to mention the potential financial implications of a data breach. Outsourcing your needs to a third party provider will mean you only pay for the shredding services you need and not a penny more.
Promote sustainability
If you’re interested in promoting sustainability in your business or simply want to reduce your carbon footprint, enlisting the services of a professional document shredding company is a great way to achieve this. You won’t have to worry about documents ending up in landfill, as quality paper shredding services come with recycling policies.
Here at Highlander Security Shredding, we offer a responsible waste paper recycling service, collecting things like old corrugated containers and packaging (OCC), Newspapers (NEWS), Periodicals and Magazines (PAMS), multi-grade printing waste, sorted office waste and solid board cuttings. All paper and cardboard recycling materials collected are either returned to our East Kilbride Recycling Centre or supplied directly to our network of approved paper mills to be turned into brand-new paper or cardboard products. Making paper products from waste paper recycling is far more energy-efficient than simply disposing of it and helps to protect the environment.
Enhanced security
When it comes to private documents, there is an underlying risk of sensitive information falling into the wrong hands. This could include documents and records such as:
Income records
Expense records
Other tax records
Credit card information
Training information
Telephone numbers
Old contracts
Crimes involving identity theft and information fraud are on the rise across the globe, with the source of stolen data often resulting from the improper handling of private information. For both domestic and corporate applications, in-house methods of document destruction tend to generally not be very secure. For businesses, this carries the risk of both employees and criminals stealing documents and obtaining private information. In fact, it has been estimated that 85% of data breaches occur within the workplace – with a substantial percentage of these as a result of human error. From piles of paper building up near the shredder and misplaced documents to improperly shredded documents, it’s easy for mistakes to occur.
Turning to confidential paper shredding services can unburden your employees from the important task of safeguarding organisation data and transfers the responsibility of document destruction to a third party provider. With this enhanced security in place, you can turn your attention to more important business tasks.
Compliance with privacy laws
As a business, you have a responsibility to adhere to certain data protection regulations and failure to do so could result in facing legal implications. The laws that cover this are the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Under the Data Protection Act businesses can be fined up to £500K for not implementing secure information handling procedures to prevent data breaches. To avoid falling foul of the law, you’ll need to take stringent measures to protect private data. Working with a professional document shredding company is the best way to ensure your business is operating in compliance with privacy laws.
Reduce hazards
Leaving large amounts of paper lying around can pose health and safety risks. Paper easily catches fire and there are additional health and safety regulations that dictate trip and slip hazards need to be kept to a minimum. The regular collection offered by confidential document disposal services will help minimise workplace these safety risks.
Guaranteed destruction
While a rubbish bag filled with shredded paper materials may be meaningless to most people, experienced data thieves have the skills and knowledge to uncover potentially valuable information. Most commercial shredders can destroy paper sufficiently enough to prevent basic data breaches. However, a determined data thief with the right technology has the capabilities to put paper strips back together and decipher sensitive content. Yet by implementing cross-cut shredding, essentially slicing every sheet of paper both vertically and horizontally, industrial shredding equipment will completely demolish your documents. Better still, these pieces will be mixed up with other shredded documents, creating an important puzzle to solve.
Proof of shredding
When you use an in-house shredder to destroy confidential documents, there is no record to show what was shredded, when it was shredded, where it has been disposed of and by whom. When you shred with Highlander Security Shredding, we’ll provide you with a certificate of destruction. This proves that all documents have been securely shredded in line with industry standard requirements. In any kind of legal investigation, this certificate will save you a lot of time and stress.
Improves company reputation
Your company’s reputation can suffer badly if you are hit with a data breach. This can harm customer trust and damage your business for years to come, affecting profits and the perceived credibility of your organisation. Working with secure document disposal experts reduces the risk of this happening by ensuring all customer data is properly destroyed. This helps pave the way for establishing trusting relationships with your customers.
Reliable paper shredding services from Highlander Security Shredding
Here at Highlander Security Shredding, we proudly provide confidential document shredding, paper shredding and paper recycling services across Scotland. Our services are available to companies, individuals and households alike, with our team working hard to ensure that your waste paper and documents are handled responsibly at every stage.
With our confidential paper shredding services, you can rest assured that your documents will be kept confidential throughout the process, helping to eliminate the risk of data breaches and protect your business against costly fines or reputation damage. All confidential waste is shredded within 24 hours of collection, plus all of our paper shredding is recycled. To find out more about our services, please contact us today.
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