All businesses are obliged to destroy all documentation that contains personal information. Data Protection laws are in place to protect identities, medical information, and personal data. In order to properly destroy and dispose of any written documentation, it is recommended that a company uses a reputable shredding company.
Small shredding machines are available for companies to buy and have on site for employees to use so the question arises, why would you need the services of a shredding company? The first consideration has to be the amount of paperwork needing to be destroyed. Many companies have storerooms and shelving full of old paperwork that has been kept for many years. This paperwork is not only cluttering valuable office space but also creating a fire hazard. To destroy this amount of paperwork on an office shredder would take a huge amount of time, effort and would potentially be damaging to the shredder.
The employee would need to remove all paper clips, stables or binding and insert the paper in small amounts; a laborious and costly use of a staff member’s time. It would call into question the level of confidentiality, some documents may be highly confidential pertaining to other staff members or company accounts that you may not be happy for a member of staff to see. There is also no way to prove compliance with the data protection laws that require proof of proper disposal of confidential paperwork.
A professional shredding company like https://ontimeshred.co.uk/our-services/paper-shredding/ has the ability to destroy and dispose of vast amounts of paper waste. When tackling bulk shredding of old documents, secure containers will be used to transport the paper off-site to the shredding company’s facility where it will be shredded by an industrial shredder quickly and efficiently. You will be provided with a certificate of destruction once your paperwork has been destroyed and reputable shredding companies will recycle the paper waste responsibly and provide you with documentation as such.
For ongoing collection and disposal of paperwork, some companies opt to have secure paper collection bins around the office which are picked up on a regular basis and taken to be shredded. A professional shredding company will also be able to come on site and use their mobile shredding services which mean you can watch the shredding to ensure no data breach has occurred. As with bulk shredding, you will be provided with documentation that you have complied with regulations and your paperwork has been destroyed properly, in line with the law.
Security is crucial and a shredding company uses secure storage solutions, tracked vehicles, trained and security screened members of staff to transport and destroy your paperwork and will provide you with all necessary documentation needed to comply with the law. The result of using a professional shredding company is the confidence that your company has destroyed all documentation responsibly and legally, the peace of mind that any personal information cannot fall into the wrong hands and that the paper has gone on to be recycled and reused.
