How do you get rid of confidential waste?

How do you get rid of confidential waste? This is a question many people ask themselves, and also a question many people ask us. There are measures everyone should take to stop their confidential waste from ending up in the wrong hands. There are also many measures we take to ensure the materials people trust us to destroy are kept safe every step of the way.

How do you get rid of confidential waste at home?

If you have old bank statements, expired insurance documents, or any other confidential paperwork at home that you need to dispose of, you should do so securely. Tearing documents into a few parts and throwing them in a waste bin isn’t enough to keep your personal information safe. For decades, fraudsters have used bin raiding to gain access to personal information. With this information, thieves can steal identities and take out loans in the names of the victim. Sometimes these crimes even go unnoticed for months at a time, costing victims thousands.

The best way to get rid of your confidential waste at home is to use a shredding service supplier. Many of our domestic shredding customers even get their neighbours or relatives on board so we can collect and destroy several households’ documents in one visit. This is a great option if you are on a tight budget and need to split costs. It is also a great opportunity to get talking to others about keeping their data safe. You could even send them a copy of our Fraud Awareness Guide if you wish!

How do you get rid of confidential waste at work?

If you are using an office shredder to destroy your confidential business waste, you could be putting your confidential information at risk. Most office shredders slice paper into long strips. These are easy to reassemble. Office shredders also require regular maintenance, which can be costly. They also take a long time to shred paperwork, especially if they can only handle a few sheets at a time. There’s also the issue of what happens to documents once they are shredded using an office shredder. If you leave your shredded business paperwork outside in an unlocked bin, your documents could be at risk of theft.

How do shredding companies get rid of confidential waste?

Shredding companies, like ourselves, take countless measures to ensure the documents we shred are destroyed under strict controls. Some of these measures include:

Vehicle security

All of our shredding and collection vehicles are GPS and telematics tracked. When we collect your confidential materials, we know exactly where they are at any given time. Additionally, the vehicles are all equipped with four CCTV cameras.

Personnel security

All of our staff members are security vetted to BS7858 standards as a minimum. The BS7858 standard is the code of practice the British Standards Institution set out for screening individuals working in security environments, and where security screening is in the best interest of the public. This involves an ID verification, right to work check, five years of employment and residence checks, a DBS check, a financial probity check and a global watchlist check. Our staff also all receive training in EN 15713 standards and data protection training.

Depot security

All of our depots have strict access controls and meet EN 15713 security standards. Security measures include 24-hour CCTV, intruder alarms, fencing, and strict access controls.

Our processes

All of the processes we adhere to meet EN 15713 standards as above. With our on-site shredding services, we shred paperwork immediately onboard our vehicle for our customers to witness. With mobile shredding services, we destroy all materials immediately upon return, and certainly well within the 24-hour timeframe required by EN15713 standards.

Our shredding equipment

The onboard shredding machines on our on-site shredding trucks and the industrial shredders at our depots can destroy a huge amount of paperwork in a short time. Using the cross-cut method of destruction, our on-site shredders can shred 600,000 sheets of paper per hour, and our off-site shredders at our depots can handle 2,000,000 sheets per hour. When we shred your documents, we mix them with millions of other paper fragments. We then mix these fragments in a process called commingling. This renders your data truly irretrievable. Even if a thief could access our depots, the chances of them finding two fragments of paper from the same sheet would be statistically less likely than winning the lottery.

Our reputation

Shred Station customers are happy customers, and a lot of our business comes from word of mouth. We attribute this to our attention to providing unparalleled customer service and our stringent security measures. Our reputation in the shredding industry is exceptionally high, so it’s no surprise that we recently received Feefo’s Gold Trusted Service award.

Our accreditations

While all of the above is vital, we don’t expect our customers to take our word for it. Our extensive list of accreditations proves our commitment to compliance and data security. These accreditations, including ISO 9001:2015 incorporating EN 15713, ISO 14001:2015 incorporating EN 15713, Cyber Essentials, PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider and SafePQQ, involve regular third-party audits of our processes. We are also members of the UKSSA who audit our processes, and the BSIA, where our Commercial Director, Kristian Carter, acts as Chair of the Information Destruction section. You can see all of our accreditations and certificates over on our accreditations page.

If you’re thinking of having a clear-out of your confidential documents, get in touch today to receive a quick quote.

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