Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions, with their answers, about paper shredding companies.

1. What are paper shredding companies?

They are companies that contract with other businesses to shred their confidential documents and to dispose of the shredded bits. They may also offer related services, such as storage and scanning.

2. Can't shreds be put back together? Is this really secure?

If you are thinking of a small inexpensive home shredder that sits on a trash can and uses strip-strip blades that provide long strips of paper, yes, it could be possible to put shreds back together. But document shredding companies use much more sophisticated technologies to securely destroy the papers.

As for how secure it is, the technology exists for security at any level, all the way up to the most stringent military secrecy requirements. You will also want to be sure that your business can trust the people of whatever shredding business you select.

3. Isn't on-site shredding, done by my own business, cheaper?

It depends on the situation. If your company had to buy and maintain shredding equipment, and to pay for employee time to run the equipment, costs would add up. Of course, you would also need to dispose of the shreds. Still, many businesses do prefer to do it this way and find that it is cost effective.

In contrast, a company that specializes in this task may be able to do it for less than you would pay if you did it in house.

We suggest that you pull out your trusty spreadsheet, get some quotes, and run some numbers. Then also consider the time and convenience factors, for both choices.

4. Where does the shredding occur?

Some paper shredding companies bring high-tech trucks that can do the whole job right outside your building. This has the advantage that it can be supervised by someone from your business.

These same companies, and others, may offer document shredding at their own facility. They may offer a way for you to observe your papers being shredded and you can expect to get a document from them that certifies your papers were shredded. This provides you with some protection, legally speaking. (We are not lawyers and please don't think of this as legal advice. Talking this idea over with your own legal counsel would be a good idea.)

Another advantage of having your papers shredded at their facility is that it is more environmentally friendly than using the big trucks. It may also be easier for the companies to recycle the shreds than it would be if your company had to figure out where to take them.