Why You Should Ditch Your Shredding Machine Now

Have you ever ditched any of these products or services in favor of something better?

• Dial-up internet access for broadband
• CDs for MP3s
• Landline for mobile phone
• Postal mail for email

You may have chosen to ditch—or even felt forced to ditch—a service, device, or way of doing things for something newer, better, more convenient, or more affordable.

Well, there’s something new to add to that list: your shredding machine. If you’re still using a shredding machine in your business, home office or residence, you may be unaware of the key reasons it’s time to ditch that office shredder. Why? Ask yourself these questions.

What is our time worth?

One of the keys to a successful business is time management. Feeding documents into a shredding machine is usually a poor use of valuable employee time when they could be focused on their core responsibilities. How efficient and affordable is it for your staff to remove staples, paperclips, binder clips, and rubber bands before leaning over a slow-grinding, noisy shredder waiting for it to shred through three or four pages at a time? Are they frustrated by having to regularly remove paper from a jammed machine?

A professional shredding company destroys huge quantities of paper in seconds and even shreds the staples, paperclips, etc. at the same time. It’s fast, affordable, and keeps the roar of the paper shredder outside your quiet office space.

Is privacy protection important to our company?

Hopefully that’s a rhetorical question, because privacy protection for your clients and employees is the law, and keeping your own company information private is vital to staying in business.

Identity theft and business fraud are major risks for all sizes of businesses. Can you afford a lawsuit, non-compliance fines, or damage to your brand due to one or more data breaches? (Spoiler: That’s rhetorical, too.)

A shredding machine leaves a lot to be desired:

• It may not be shredding your documents in a manner that leaves them unreconstructible. Shredding method matters, and a reputable shredding company will not only shred your documents so they become unrecognizable, they will also mix your shredded material with that from other sources, so each shredded piece of your documents intermingles with millions of others.
• Have you ever left sensitive documents in a pile waiting to be shredded? That’s a major data breach risk, giving prying eyes the perfect opportunity to see or even steal sensitive documents before you ever get a chance to destroy them. A NAID AAA Certified shredding service guarantees secure document destruction, and locked shred collection containers keep your information safe until shredding takes place
• When you shred your own documents, you have no proof that you have destroyed them in compliance with data privacy laws. When you work with a professional shredding company, you can request a Certificate of Destruction as proof of your compliance in case the auditor comes knocking.

Where does our shredded material end up?

Due to recycling stream limitations, most waste management companies don’t accept shredded paper for recycling. Instead, it goes straight to the landfill instead of being used to make new paper products. If you are concerned about the environment, partner with a shredding service that recycles 100% of the paper they shred.

Can we afford to keep our shredding machine?

If you are watching the budget line and looking for efficient ways to effectively run your business, then it’s time to ditch the machine and consider outsourcing your shredding to a reputable document destruction company.

CI Information Management provides NAID AAA Certified shredding services in Southeastern and Central Washington state and Northeastern Oregon. If you have questions or are ready to make a switch, give us a call at 509-302-2184 or complete the form on this page. Our friendly shredding experts are standing by!