All About Commercial Document Shredding Services

Since June 1995, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) has been in force. The Act makes it legally binding for companies in the United States to employ a person specifically responsible for destruction of all discarded business related documents in a safe and secure manner with the necessary equipment for proper document disposal.

The Act is meant to prevent misuse of personal information and ensure elimination of any possibility of identity theft in order to prevent bank fraud and corporate espionage. Non-compliance with State Law can make companies liable for fines up to $1,000, whereas violation of Federal Law could saddle a company with fines up to $2,500. Other related laws are HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) and GLBA (Graham Leach Bliley Act of 1999).

If confidential documents are simply thrown in the trashcan, visitors or maintenance staff - or anyone else, for that matter - can access them. This is a serious security concern. The most secure method of document destruction is by using commercial shredding services, through professional shredding companies. These companies provide both onsite and offsite shredding services.

In onsite commercial shredding services, the company sends a truck, fitted with specialized equipment for shredding, to the business address given by the client. They park outside the building and carry out the shredding operation right on the spot. The whole shredding process can be monitored by the client from the office on closed circuit TV through the camera fitted on the shredding truck; thus, companies can be sure that all documents have been completely and thoroughly destroyed and cannot be reconstructed.

Right after shredding, the commercial shredders provide the company with a Certificate of Destruction certifying complete destruction of the documents. Regular clients can set a daily/weekly/monthly schedule for shredding operations and the truck will arrive accordingly. All shredded material is then sent for recycling. For secure storage of documents for the next shredding day, commercial shredding companies provide safe, lockable and wheeled storage containers. On the scheduled day, these containers are wheeled out to the truck, where they are lifted mechanically and dumped in the shredding machine, all the while being monitored by the client through CCTV, without any person touching the contents.

If there is no place to park outside the office, or if for any other reason the client opts for offsite shredding, the commercial shredding company sends a truck to pick up the locked bins/containers which contain the documents to be destroyed, and takes them to it's warehouse where they have their shredding facilities. These offsite commercial shredding facilities are also fitted with security cameras, through which shredding operations can be viewed and monitored. After destruction, the company provides Certificate of Destruction with the date and the time of the destruction, which are sometimes required for audit purposes.

For residential and small businesses that generate low volume but nevertheless value the security provided by secure shredding and recycling, commercial shredders can also provide pickup of shredding bins. Commercial shredding companies also provide the option for small business clients to drop off their documents for destruction at authorized collection centers. These collection centers operate in compliance with State and Federal Law. The client is again provided a Certificate of Destruction, specifying the date and time of the document destruction.

For safe and secure document destruction, the peace of mind offered by commercial shredding companies just can't be beat. Don't leave your document security to chance!