Why Paper Shredding Bins Are One of The Best Purchases for Your Company

Paper Shredding Bins

In any organization, important paper documents tend to accumulate over time. At some point, their use will expire and they will need to be disposed of or destroyed. Most companies assume that it’s less expensive to purchase a small office shredder and do their own shredding, but there are other major costs associated with that choice.

The best solution to this paper problem is to purchase lockable paper shredding bins and contract with a professional shredding and destruction service. When you have several hundred pounds of paper to shred at once, it makes sense to collect it in a safe and secure way and then have it shredded more efficiently.

Locked paper shredding bins can be strategically placed in an office to help manage the collection of confidential paperwork. This sensitive material goes directly into secure bins so that it does not get into the wrong hands. When it’s time, these documents are collected from the special tamper-proof containers and shredded by a mobile shredding truck on-site, safely and securely.

Lockable paper shredding consoles are a smart, efficient and cost-effective way to demonstrate that your company places a priority on protecting information. Choose the appropriately sized console to help you build a safer and more productive office environment.

Why not use a small office shredder instead?

When you buy a small office shredder, the process becomes more costly and is not as safe or secure. First of all, you’ll need to have an employee operate the shredder, and that takes time away from their productivity. Secondly, the more you use the shredder, the more it will deteriorate and become less dependable. With time, it will also jam more often and need maintenance or repairs.

When the documents you’re not shredding pile up and are not stored securely, it creates a huge security risk. With hiring a purge shredding service, you have the peace of mind that your confidential information is properly destroyed and disposed of.

You are hopefully confident that your employees are trustworthy, however, there’s always a chance they may accidentally discover confidential information if it’s not stored properly. That’s why having a locked paper shredding bin is more secure – it will help avoid this issue.

Remaining compliant with HIPAA regulations

In order to remain HIPAA compliant, the law requires certain documents that contain personal or sensitive information to be completely destroyed. By keeping this information locked in paper shredding bins, you help your organization avoid thousands of dollars in penalties and fines.

Hiring a professional shredding service will help protect the information you’re responsible for keeping. Employees can simply drop any sensitive documents in the bin and when it’s time to shred, the qualified technician will remove it in the proper fashion. The paper will be dumped into the hopper of an industrial truck-based mobile shredder and then seconds later it will be destroyed. When the shredding job is complete, the technician will issue a certificate of destruction as proof of HIPAA compliance.

It’s always recommended that companies put procedures in place to handle sensitive documents with confidential information. Part of that includes purchasing locked paper shredding bins to collect it all.

IntelliShred can help destroy your paper documents in a safe, secure manner. We have storage bins of all sizes available for our customers use. Please contact us today to learn more about our shredding and destruction services.

Purge Shredding

Purge shredding is something that every business and organization should participate in. It’s usually a once a year event when large volumes of paper documents and electronic records are shredded and destroyed.

These shredding purges don’t usually occur on a regular basis, but typically take place when there are dozens of pounds worth of paper to shred, and it’s not feasible to shred it on your own. Shred purges are often annual events, but one-time shredding purges can be requested whenever there’s a larger amount to be shredded.

Every company may need to purge – especially if:

1. end-of-year or quarterly archive activities uncover documents that are past their retention date
2. your company or organization moves to a new location with less space to store the information
3. a merger or acquisition makes those documents or information obsolete

Typically, purge shredding is always difficult to execute using a small home or office shredder. Hiring a professional shredder may cost a little more, but it will definitely be more efficient and allow you to be more productive with your time, saving you hours of frustration. Professional shredding services are equipped with industrial strength shredders that can handle enormous volumes of paper and even secure e-waste disposal.

Purges can happen in two different ways – there are mobile shredding services that come right to your door and allow you to supervise the process, or you can select off-site shredding services that transport your documents to a secure off-site facility for shredding.

There are several reasons why purge shredding is so important:

1. 1. It helps your company remain compliant.
      Your organization could be violating privacy laws by either holding on to documents or simply throwing them in the trash. Currently, there are federal and state laws in place that govern how confidential information is collected, stored, and disposed of. It’s necessary to know the applicable regulations at local, regional, and federal levels to make sure you comply. Purge shredding can help eliminate any risk of penalties or fines for not remaining compliant.
   2. It helps reduce human error
      A one-time clean-out helps eliminate erroneous mistakes and errors with paperwork. A workplace that is cluttered and untidy is not efficient to work within. Paper clutter is very distracting to employees and can cost them to make errors that they would not have made otherwise. A recent statistic states that employee actions/mistakes accounted for 32% of data breach incidents.
   3. It enhances identity theft protection.
      Outdated paper files with confidential information, obsolete emails on computers, and sensitive information stored in digital media devices could be the perfect way for information thieves to wreak havoc. Physical safeguards can definitely help somewhat, but to be more confident with your level of security, it’s best to purge shred once a year. It’s also recommended that you put a comprehensive policy for regular collection of confidential information within your office.
   4. It provides immediate proof of proper destruction.
      When you decide to hire a professional service provider for purge shredding, they will issue an official Certificate of Destruction. This certificate confirms that your materials have been destroyed safely, and according to the privacy laws such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA).
   5. It offers secure document management.
      There are documents that should never be left in easily-accessible office areas, because they contain personally identifiable information. It’s wise to create an official document management process within your organization. By having a process which oversees the workflow, storage requirements, and data retention within your company, you can prevent documents from being mishandled, or lost.

Usually a one-time purge can help you significantly declutter and organize your office space. It’s important to do this so that your business can run more efficiently, but the other reason to do it is to avoid the risk of theft. If there are documents that hold sensitive or confidential information that are just lying around in the open, it’s possible they could get into the wrong hands. Identity theft and data breaches could end up costing your company thousands of dollars in legal fees, fines or penalties.

It’s crucial to find the right purge shredding and destruction service for your needs. Your important documents should be trusted to a reputable, trustworthy service with years of success in the industry. IntelliShred has spent years providing safe, secure shredding and destruction service to thousands of loyal customers. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help safeguard your information.

Questions That Help Determine The Cost To Shred Documents

In this day and age, there’s always a need to dispose of or destroy confidential information – especially in paper form. Although hiring a professional shredding company seems straightforward, there are many unknown variables that need to considered to determine the cost of their services.

There is always an expense, even when you’re choosing to shred documents on your own. The equipment you’d be using would not be able to handle a large volume of paper, and more importantly, it may not shred the paper down to the proper size.

For the same price of maintaining your office shredder, tasking your employees and paying for a disposal service, you could hire a local shredding company. The cost of doing it yourself could be high if your employees don’t handle the process correctly, or if the information is stolen you could lose your organization’s reputation.

For most businesses needing to shred paper, cost savings of $10-15 per random shredding job is less important. In the long-run, on-site/mobile shredding is cheaper (about $10 less per bin). Plus, if the cheaper company is shredding offsite, your information could be less secure, costing more in the long run. So, how much does it cost to shred documents?

Here are some important questions which may make it easier to determine exactly how much it costs to shred documents:

1. How Much Do You Have to Shred?
   Volume is the number one factor that should be considered. If you don’t determine how much your volume is, your shredding service will not be able to properly estimate the cost of the job. The recommendation is that if you have smaller shredding projects (under 100 pounds), then you should be able to transport the documents yourself to save money. For shredding projects (over 100 pounds), it’s best to use a mobile shredding service that will shred a larger volume on-site. There could be greater discounts for larger volumes of paper shredded at once, which could save you money in the long run.
2. How Much Time Do You Have?
   Depending on your schedule, there can be tremendous flexibility in how your shredding service is set up. If you have a shredding location near you, you can schedule a time to drop off your documents at your convenience. However, if a shredding location is not accessible, a mobile shredding service should be able to handle shredding everything for you right outside your doorstep. This could be more cost-effective, and it is the most efficient and convenient way to get the job done.
3. How Flexible is Your Schedule?
   The flexibility of your schedule may greatly impact which shredding service you choose. Some services require advanced scheduling, while others will come to you the instant you call (there are also 24-hour emergency services). Mobile shredding trucks are usually scheduled in advance, anywhere from a few days in advance to a few weeks, depending on the time of year and how busy the shredding company is.
4. What Level of Security Do You Require?
   Mobile shredding services are completely secure, but it’s wise to be detailed about what level of security is needed as your documents get destroyed. If documents are dropped-off, they may be at a higher risk than if they were shredded on-site. The risk of identity theft and/or a breach of data can be way more costly over time. Today’s high-tech mobile services are just as secure as the alternative – and the shredding can even happen with your supervision.

Just by knowing the answers to the questions above, you could save up to savings of 15-20% on the cost of the job. The right shredding partner will most-likely customize their contract and provide you with an up-front pricing guarantee. Make sure the vendor you choose complies with all applicable privacy and environmental laws and industry standards.

At IntelliShred, we are here to help find an economical way to protect your confidential information. We offer high-volume discounts and we do not charge any rush fees. Contact us today to learn more about our services.

Disposal Of Medical Records

Knowing whether or not to retain medical records is not always straightforward. It’s something that most providers think to be the highest priority, but disposing of patient’s medical records is essential to the health of your organization or practice.

The destruction process is not difficult to implement, but because there are federal and state laws which govern disposal and destruction methods, it should be handled by a professional shredding and destruction service. If your organization does not have a destruction policy already in place, you should definitely develop one as soon as possible.

Regulations for the disposal of medical records exist at both the federal and state levels. The federal laws include the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) Rule. This privacy rule governs any covered entities and how they should apply appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the privacy of protected health information (PHI), in any form.

These days, most PHI is stored on some type of digital device, but there could also be paper copies of the medical records. Whether it be email messages, SMS or text messages, video recordings, file downloads, or other electronic media storage, it’s absolutely essential that protective measures are in place.

HIPAA’s Security Rule establishes the administrative, physical, and technical safeguards that covered entities and business associates must put in place in order to secure electronic protected health information as they are created, received, maintained, or transmitted.

The HIPAA rule also states that organizations need to have policies and procedures in place to address the final destruction of electronic PHI and/or the electronic media on which it is stored. Failing to implement these proper safeguards to protect PHI could result in severe penalties and fines.

Organizations that handle PHI can’t just go about disposing confidential information in dumpsters or containers that are accessible by the public. The most important types of PHI that need protection are social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, debit or credit card numbers, diagnosis or treatment information, or other sensitive information. Pretty much anything that could result in identity theft, discrimination, or that would bring harm to an individual’s reputation.

It is always encouraged to hire a professional disposal or destruction service because of their direct expertise. The following is a list of common ways a professional company would go about the disposal of medical records:

• Burning, shredding, pulping and pulverizing paper documents
• Recycling and pulverizing microfilm or microfiche
• Pulverizing laser discs (document-imaging applications)
• Magnetic degaussing is used to destroy computerized data
• Shredding or cutting DVDs
• Demagnetizing magnetic tapes

When outsourcing the disposal of medical records, you should know there are special clauses under the HIPAA privacy rule, which state that your vendor contract should include the following elements:

• The date of destruction
• The description of the records being disposed of or destroyed
• The chosen disposal or destruction method
• The timing between acquisition and disposal or destruction
• Indemnification for the organization
• The proper level of liability insurance to cover any mistakes or breaches
• Signatures of witnesses to disposal or destruction process

The most effective way to remain compliant and protect your business/practice from unwanted legal action is to hire a mobile professional shredding and destruction service. These technicians will come right to your door, assess your needs and provide a certified shredding and destruction process that is safe and secure.

At IntelliShred, we have spent years perfecting our shredding and destruction methods, which include the secure disposal of medical records. We only hire the most qualified technicians available to handle your shredding and destruction needs. We are industry certified and our customers come back to us year after year! Contact us today to learn more about how we can help safeguard your business.