10 Great Shredding, Recycling, and Disposal Tips

Are you old enough to remember ‘paperless'? It was all the buzz during the 1970s when computers by the thousands were being installed at our offices. Everything (read that in all caps and pretend it's blinking) would be on-line and we'd not need much in the way of paper ever again. It was quite difficult to wrap our thoughts around paperless. So difficult in fact that it never quite happened; which brings us to talk about the shredding and recycling of paper, lots of paper.

While most of the work done and the documents kept are on-line a hefty amount of paper involved in daily business activities remains. A large percentage of this heftiness is sensitive and confidential to your business and would pose a problem falling into the wrong hands after you are done with it.

These nonpublic documents might include payroll and tax records, personnel and Social Security accountings, banking and investment account numbers, intellectual property specifics, and the list goes on and on. The appropriate destruction of these documents is important to the success of your enterprise and may even have legal guidelines and penalties attached.

If your business is growing to the degree that the little shredder behind every desk no longer takes care of your needs: Congratulations! Here are a few things to consider when deciding on a company to help you care for this precious waste.

• What kinds of paper does this company shred? Ordinary white printer paper, fax paper, catalogues or photos?

• Are all recycling methods EPA compliant?

• How long has this company been in business? Are local references available?

• To what degree are they able to customize to the needs of your particular company? Are a variety of containers available for a variety of paper waste? Are they convenient to place and easy to use?

• Will they provide education to your employees as this joint effort begins? Are customer service employees available to answer questions as they present?

• Does this company pick up your paper waste at your premises? Are your employees required to prepare the paper for pick up or do the shredding-company employees do that?

• Is the shredding done on site or at their remote location? Is this important to you? Does it affect the cost one way or another?

• Does this company pick up from your community regularly, frequently? Can they work with your schedule? What is your schedule in that how often is a pickup practical from your offices?

• Do you feel a level of trust and confidence in turning this information-significant waste over to them?

• How Green is this company? How do they recycle the paper after the shredding has taken place?

These are not thoughts we considered before we entered this time of paperless-ness, but these are most certainly required thoughts and protections to put in place today. Take time to interview the shredding company you intend to partner with. They will handle for you sensitive-waste to be disposed of efficiently, Greenly, and lawfully while they also serve to support our planet by reducing the amount of landfill and conserving energy. This is important work for us all.

Shimshon Hazan operates Shredex, the leading Florida Shredding company. Visit these links to know more about the shredding process and document destruction and recycling in Florida