If you’re a business owner or office manager, you may be responsible for getting rid of old confidential information. In some states, businesses are required to retain confidential client documents for a specified period of time and then dispose of them only by approved methods. For many companies, the choice to shred and recycle those documents is the most economical and practical.

While some companies can shred their documents using their own equipment, many need to contact local shredding services. When you use a local service, they are likely to be knowledgeable and motivated about the local regulations regarding document confidentiality and destruction. Once local services collect your documents for shredding, they make it more difficult to break confidentiality by mixing the shreds of your documents with the shreds of other companies’ documents.

Paper recycling and shredding is a business cost that can be seen as an investment in your future. You may be able to recycle your own documents into usable paper for your company. If you shred your documents on-site, the shredding service may provide you with shredding boxes. According to Shredding Nation, an average paper shredding service cost for 10 – 12 boxes will be $130 – $175.

If you work in an office where you handle sensitive information, it is critical that you have some mechanism with which to combat identity theft, especially when it comes to hard copies. Not only is the information of your customers in jeopardy, but the very integrity and operation of your offices might be too.

Want to learn more about the many benefits of shredding services? Check out these reasons why you should stop using the personal shredder and hire professionals to come and take care of business at your business:

Information Can’t Be Recovered

The techniques used by a reliable document shredding services company make it so that it is virtually impossible to reconstitute the materials disposed of. Once shredded, the shredded bits are mixed with the shredded files of other companies, making it even harder for criminals to reassemble anything.

They Keep You In Compliance

For many businesses, shredding documents isn’t actually an option at all: it’s a requirement as per compliance laws. There are very real penalties associated with the incorrect disposal of sensitive data, and it is simply not worth the risk of getting caught.

Your Reputation Is On the Line

No company would ever want to break any laws (we hope), because their reputation rides on the trust of their customers and community. If it was found that they were not protecting such sensitive information, it could really hurt the credibility and customer base.

It’s Good For the Environment

The paper shredded by document shredding services is subsequently recycled, which saves it from going into landfills (incredibly, 35% of landfill waste is paper). It is much easier for large paper shredding companies to make sure that the paper gets recycled properly every time.

It’s Cost Effective

Handling all your shredding in-house can actually end up costing more than hiring out to a shredding services company, since it will take time away from your employees and might represent significant losses in security down the line.

Some companies might think that letting their sensitive documents pile up around the office until an intern can get around to shredding them is fine — but it’s not, and the longer that information goes without being destroyed, the longer that information is vulnerable to theft. With a shredding service, you can ensure the safe and regular destruction of sensitive documents.