The files you possess on your clients might contain sensitive information about those customers. You are responsible for that information and for its safety. UK law states that businesses are responsible for protecting the information of their clients. In fact, you and your company can be punished severely if you do not take good care of your customers’ sensitive information.
One way to protect that information is to shred physical documents once you are no longer using that information. If your company is large, you might have a problem shredding all the necessary paperwork. Or perhaps you have converted all of your physical, paper files to digital and are stuck with a warehouse of documents. You could attempt to shred the files yourself with one of those desk shredders, but those are designed for small jobs. They tend to burn out if you put too much stress on them. Your best bet is to hire one of the professional paper shredding companies such as PaperEscape.
A reliable company very carefully preserves the chain of custody of the documents. You know, for a fact, that the documents went from your company to the shredding company. You can even track the individuals who handled the property. This way you know you are in compliance with UK law and protecting your clients’ private information.
Eco Friendly
So, what do you do with all of that paper after it has been shredded? You don’t want to just throw it away since it will decompose in a landfill. When selecting a paper shredding company, make sure that the one you choose recycles the paper after it has been shredded. You want to have peace of mind that as little as possible is going to a landfill.
All of the paper that is thrown away without being recycled means that more trees will have to be cut down and more fuel will have to be burned to turn that tree into paper. This is wasteful and unnecessary.
Local
If you are employing a paper shredding company, you probably have a large amount of paper that needs to be shredded. So you will probably have a difficult time transporting all of that paper very far. It is very likely you will have to enlist your employees to help you move your documents to the shredders.
For that reason, you should look into a paper shredding company that is local. A local company will not require you to transport your documents very far. Also, you should especially look for a company that offers discounts for locally owned businesses. Dealing with local businesses keeps waste and expense at a minimum and also stimulates the local economy.
Collection Service
Some paper shredding companies require you to transport your documents to them so that they can shred it. This is viable for some companies especially if you are located very close to the shredding company. However, you should not have to move your own documents. You are already paying a company to destroy your documents. You should not have to also pay to have them sent to that company.
When searching for a shredding company, you should keep your eyes out for one that offers a collection service. Some organizations even offer a collection service all around the UK. This means that the shredding company will send professionals to gather the documents and transport them to be destroyed without ever ruining the chain of custody.