In-house shredding: When is it right, When is it wrong?

by Michelle Keshel

I’ve often been asked whether it is a valid strategy to shred information in-house or whether that is a mistake. The truth of the matter is that this really depends on a number of issues that include all of the following:

• The volume of information that needs to be shredded

• The sensitivity of the information that requires shredding

• The investment that you will need to make in equipment to shred

• Who in your organization will be responsible for shredding?

• The value of those who will spend time shredding documents

In situations where your volume of documents for shredding is low, and the sensitivity of the information is low, then in-house shredding may very well be a cost effective route for you to pursue. In these situations, the equipment required is less expensive, the time requirements on personnel should be minimal, and your overall security risk should also be minimal.

However, in situations where the sensitivity of the information is moderate to high, and the volume of information is more than a few pages, you may quickly find that your best value and security will come through hiring a NAID certified document destruction vendor. There are a number of factors that make the decision in this situation very attractive. These include the cost of equipment to ensure that the sensitive information you shred is in fact truly destroyed, issues related to compliance management, as well as issues related to the time cost of personnel and difficulty in ensuring conformance with an internal program.

By hiring a qualified and NAID certified vendor in these cases, there are many benefits that can be derived. These include enhanced security, access to destruction equipment that can handle as much as 20 tons of material per hour, as well as assistance with compliance issues. Most often, the programs and procedures that your vendor will put in place will incorporate the use of locked collection containers onsite. These offer both convenience and personnel cost savings as your personnel simply need to identify sensitive information for destruction, then place it in the correct container – Your vendor will handle the rest of the process, which includes scheduled pick up of materials, guards for your materials until they are destroyed, and guaranteed destruction, which is followed up with an official certificate of destruction. In many cases, this is what most businesses prefer.