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Thursday, 17 May 2012

Four Reasons Why We Need Paper Shredding

Paper shredding or document destruction is critical for safe keeping confidential and sensitive information. Most of us create and keep files with sensitive content; examples of which are bills, financial statements, marketing plans, employee files, and even delivery packages. Government offices, non-commercial organizations, large corporations, small businesses, and private citizens alike make use of machines called shredders that cut paper into strips or fine pieces, which are then collected and recycled.

Compliance with the Law
We all have the right to protection of personal information. As a matter of fact, there are laws that penalize improper disposal of documents with sensitive and confidential content. Organizations that hold personal data but neglect to protect it face financial and legal consequences. Employers for example use paper shredding services to get rid of employee files which are no longer in use.

Protecting Mother Nature
Numerous trees are cut down in order to make paper. To protect forests, people advocate a "paperless society", and only use paper as a last resort. The practice of sustainable farming answers the need for raw materials in papermaking. Reusing and recycling strips and bits from paper shredding machines is also another method of preserving forests.

Preventing Identity Theft
Identity theft cases are prevalent, and increasingly becoming a huge threat with the advent of the Internet. A delivery box with a name and an address that's not properly disposed of can already be a potential threat. It's considered 'best practice' for organizations and individuals to use paper shredder and similar devices to avoid identity theft and fraud.

Eliminating Clutter and Fire Hazards
Piles of papers cause clutter and increase the risks of fire. Offices need to constantly get rid of these papers as part of an organization-wide records management system. Many offices purchase office shredders and designate an employee to take care of the proper disposal and destruction of paper documents. However, tapping 3rd party shredding services is the more cost-effective approach because it doesn't require capital investment, maintenance cost, and service calls.

So there you have it, four main reasons why we need to practice proper disposal and destruction of paper documents. Having a shredding machine or document destruction service is truly important. Shredding paper helps to keep us in compliance with the law, to protect forests, to prevent identity theft, and to rid clutter and fire hazards. A paper shredder isn't just a trash bin with sharp teeth - it's actually a life-saver. All-Star Shredding was set up by Sean Bergin in 2008 after selling his existing Waste Disposal Business (Bergin Waste Disposal Ltd).

All-Star Shredding provide a high quality, competitively priced Shredding Services. They provide a Confidential Waste Disposal service and enable paper shredding, document shredding, document destruction and Shredders which are reliable and secure.

All-Star Shredding's Shredder Trucks enable Onsite Shredding and provide Secure Shredding for all clients.

For more information please visit http://www.allstarshredding.ie

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karina_Smith

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Paper Shredding - Your Role As Records Manager

Records management or simply RM refers to the systematic and strategic maintenance of an organisation's records from creation to disposition, with paper shredding being one of the tried and tested methods of records disposition. A records manager is the person in charge of this task and he plans, directs, organises, trains, promotes, implements and monitors all activities involved in the management of records. If you are a records manager, you're probably aware of the different activities designated to you.

Your organisation creates and uses a wide range of records. When these records reach the end of their lifecycle, they generally need to be destroyed. Your organisation may already have one or several units of paper shredder to handle document destruction to address the different aspects of records disposition. When your shredding machines don't work as efficiently, or when in-house shredding is no longer cost-effective, it's time to consider other options. As a records manager, it is your responsibility to see to it that your organisation remains compliant with its legal obligations concerning maintaining privacy and confidently so notwithstanding operational budget and resources.

However, disposal of records does not necessarily mean feeding records to the shredders. Some of your organisation's documents may only require transfer of storage for archiving purposes. This could mean sending your records to a museum or a historical archive. As a records manager, you should know when to destroy documents and when to perform other methods of disposition. Understand that documents destruction is no ordinary procedure. It must be implemented under a well-designed records management program, compliant with applicable statutes.
Utmost care and professionalism are required when destroying records in order to protect privacy and data. For this reason, it may be best to hire a shredding services provider that offers

well-documented, economical, timely, eco-friendly, and more importantly secure services. A professional service provider maintains an inventory of disposed or destroyed records, evidenced by a certificate. The provider must offer on-site shredding witnessed by your organisation's representative, and this must be done as efficiently as possible. Other than shredding paper documents, the service provider must also offer destruction of discs, drives and other storage of records that needs to be destroyed.

Protection of data and privacy is one of your primary objectives as a records manager. Your job is of grave importance considering that at any given time, when sensitive information about your organisation or its members falls into the wrong hands, there could be disaster of unknown degree. Protection and overall management of records however is not solely your responsibility, but that of every member of the organisation. That's why you need to train and promote proper management of records at all levels and stages.

All-Star Shredding are one of Irelands leading Paper Shredding & Document Destruction Company. Our Onsite Shredder & Paper Shredder trucks ensure a Confidential & Secure Shredding Services. We provide a Confidential Waste Disposal Service as well.

For more information, please visit http://www.allstarshredding.ie

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karina_Smith

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Tidbits About Paper Shredding And Non-Paper Shredding

Records management doesn't only involve creating, storing and safeguarding of paper documents, as well as their ultimate disposal or destruction. Paper shredding may be the most popular method of documents destruction, but it isn't the only solution or alternative around. Some of the records that an individual or organization keeps are in fact in non-paper format, stored inside digital storage devices such as CDs, DVDs, flash drives, mini discs, and hard drives. These too have to be disposed of properly when no longer in use.

As part of a prudent records management program, when a document reaches the end of its life cycle, it needs to be properly disposed of - whether through shredding or incineration, or storage at a historic archiving facility. It's therefore necessary to look for documents destruction and shredding services provider that handles non-paper documents. Fortunately, most of the shredding companies today offer destruction and disposal of non-paper documents, guaranteeing the same level of security, privacy and documentation.

Whilst most paper documents are fed to the shredding machines, discs and drives are better off recycled. eWaste or electronic waste has become a serious environmental problem as millions of discs and drives end up in the landfill, if not comingled with paper thus contaminating the paper and making recycling difficult. Discs shouldn't be fed into paper shredding machine and vice versa - this is to prevent damage to the shredders and to prevent comingling of shredded waste.

Furthermore, it's not wise too to break or destroy discs and drives because this will only make the materials less viable for recycling. During recycling process, the eWaste are sorted out and their content erased. Afterwards, they are melted down and processed into plastic- or metal-based products. Other materials such as wires, screws and bolts are also recycled. Recycling discs and drives is much friendlier to the environment than dumping them into landfills or burning them. Recycling process doesn't release harmful fumes into the air.

Disc and drive shredding is patterned after paper shredding in the way that it promotes efficiency, security and eco-friendly methods of document destruction and disposal. When looking for a disc and drive destruction company, follow the same rules for choosing a shredding company. Make sure that the firm offers a certified and fully documented service. It helps if you're to witness the process and that the shredding is done on-site (per schedule or when the need arises). It's also great if the company provides you with secure storage bins for collecting documents for destruction.

All-Star Shredding are one of Ireland's leading Paper Shredding & Document Destruction Company. Our Onsite Shredder & Paper Shredder trucks ensure a Confidential & Secure Shredding Services. We provide a Confidential Waste Disposal Service as well.

For more information, please visit http://www.allstarshredding.ie

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karina_Smith

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