Historical Archives

Call Us Today!
(706) 724-7982 or
Request a Quote:

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

How Drop-Off Shredding Works

I recently had lunch with an old friend of mine. Rather than eat out, I just brought a pizza to his small office space. Will often has papers all over his desk. Not because he’s disorganized, but because he’s usually got several small projects going on at the same time. In trying to clear a space for the pizza, he grabbed some of the papers on the corner of his desk, glanced at them, tore them up by hand and tossed them in the trash.

Me: Was that a contract you just tore up and threw out?

Will: Oh, yeah. It’s been revised, so I don’t need that version anymore. Anyways, you can set the pizza down right there. Thanks for picking that up.

Me: Don’t you have confidential documents shredded?

Will: We’re not a big enough business to worry about that. I should have thrown it in the recycling box, but I don’t know where it is right now. I have water and soda here. Which would you prefer?

Me: Water is great, thanks. Aren’t you worried that someone could steal those torn papers from the garbage or recycling, piece them together, and steal the information off of it?

Will: Who would want to do that?

Me: Lots of people. It happens all the time. And they use the information to steal identities and money, purchase goods, obtain illegal IDs, open credit accounts, and a ton of other fraudulent activities.

Will: Well, I’ve heard that shredded paper from an office shredder can be put together too, so what’s the difference?

Me: Great point. That’s why we use a shredding company.

Will: Yeh, well, that’s because you work for a huge company that can afford to do that. My business is tiny. It’s just me and one other person, and most of our work is digital so we don’t have much paper to shred. No company is going to shred a handful of pages.

Me: Not true, Will. All you need to do is collect your discarded papers in a secure area—a locked file drawer will do—and take them to a local, reputable shredding company for drop-off shredding service. It’s super convenient. They have a drop-off shredding location not far from here and the employees are background-screened, insured, bonded and highly trained to destroy your private information properly and securely.

Will: Well, that sounds great, but it’s never been an issue up until now.

Me: You’ve been lucky, then. One of my friends from college opened their own business, and two years in, a dumpster diver stole some clients’ information. They had to report the data breach, pay for damages, and pay a government fine due to their non-compliance with data privacy laws. It was ugly, and it almost put them out of business. I guess you just have to decide if it’s worth the risk and expense of a data breach when drop-off shredding is so affordable.

Will: You have a valid point. So, what do I need to do to?

Me: I’ll give you the name of the place we use. As you collect documents, drop them into that locked file drawer behind you, and once a week or so, call ahead for a drop-off time, and drive on over. They’ll even help you if you have too much paper to carry in yourself. The great thing is that they will also recycle the shredded paper afterward. That’s something that you can’t normally do with papers recycled on your own because, strangely, waste management companies can’t process shredded paper. Oh, and you can ask for a Certificate of Destruction from the shredding service.

Will: What’s a Certificate of Destruction?

Me: It’s an official certificate showing that you have had your documents securely destroyed on that date in compliance with state and federal data privacy laws.

Will: But how can I be sure they will really shred my documents? You know me; I have trust issues.

Me: You can watch the shredding take place. As in, stand there and watch them feed your papers into the huge shredding machine to get pulverized.

Will: You’re kidding! Now that makes me feel better. You’ve convinced me. I officially have a shredding solution that will keep me and my business out of hot water! Hey, thanks for the good pizza and great advice.

Records Management Center in Augusta Georgia offers drop off shredding service for any amount of secure documents for any size of business. We provide cost-effective services so that your business remains complaint with privacy laws. Call us at 706-724-7982 to make an appointment or complete the form on this page.