Some companies outsource their shredding to shredding services. These companies either shred on-site, with mobile shredder trucks or have off-site shredding facilities. Documents that need to be destroyed are often placed in bins that are emptied periodically.

With so much emphasis being put on security both in terms of our identity and our finances it is important to ensure that every effort is made to make the identity thief’s job as difficult as possible. One way of doing this is to shred all documents that may contain information about you or members of your family which may allow the identity thief to build up a picture of either you as an individual or any other member of your family [keep reading…]

When shredding documentation that may contain personal information it is wise to shred only a few pages at a time thus ensuring they go through the machine without jamming or missing the shred on those important details. Indeed once the paper has gone through the shredder you can (if you feel the need to) burn it on a garden fire or barbecue.

The paper can be disposed of normally with your household waste but again it is advisable to put it in a plastic bag and tie it closed and (where possible) place it near the bottom of your bin so that it is disguised with other household waste.

Shredding Security

The shredding industry uses a Shred Size Scale, sometimes called the ‘International Shred Size Scale’, although in practice the definitions vary across regions. Essentially, shred size equates with security: the smaller the shredded pieces that come out of the machine, the greater the security.

• Level 1: 12mm strips: Very low security
• Level 2: 6mm strips: Low security
• Level 3: 2mm strips, cross-cut: Confidential
• Level 4: 2 x 15mm particles: Commercially sensitive
• Level 5: 0.8 x 12mm particles: Top Secret or Classified
• Level 6: 0.8 x 4mm particles: Ultra-Top Secret or Classified

A number of techniques are used to achieve these effects;

Strip-cut shredders, use rotating knives. Cross-cut shredders use two contra-rotating drums to produce small diamond shapes or ‘confetti’. Particle-cut shredders make tiny square or circular pieces. And disintegrators, hammermills and grinders all reduce waste to ever smaller particles. Level 6 particles are essentially minuscule granules.

Shredding Services – …here you have a list of Records Management Companies who are dedicated and/or offer Document Shredding, among their services…

Records Management – Records Management is the practice of maintaining the records of an organization from the time they are created up to their eventual disposal. This may include classifying, storing, securing, and destruction (or in some cases, archival preservation) of records.

Data Retrieval – Data Retrieval involves extracting the wanted data from a database, generally for the purpose of recovering lost or damaged Data…

Archive Boxes – .. whether it’s your Personal Documents, or Business/Office archive files, it’s important to select the right Boxes for Document Storage.