I judge that on two pieces of anecdotal evidence. One is that it I  rarely hear about these types of businesses with confidential information in the trash. The second is that these types of business correspond to the people whom seem to need record shredding. Correlation is never causation but I have no doubt that some organizations take their responsibilities more seriously. It can’t be function of the law because FACTA requires shredding for every business that handles any information used to obtain credit.

One type of business that seems to make the news often for security problems are gyms. The latest that turned up was LA Fitness in Phoenix, Arizona. Preston Brooker was walking his dog and noticed a dumpster stuffed with the personal information of past customers. Most gyms take credit information to bill customers monthly. The worst part is the gym even collected social security numbers on the form.

Before you give out your financial information to anyone find out how they store the information and how they dispose of it. They should have no problem showing you a locked room with locked file cabinets and explain who has the keys. There should also be some shred bins around the office or a shredding log. The log should be signed by the general manager or have past certificates of destruction.

But anytime you apply for a job or credit you are putting your name

The problem for Dallas residents is that they have done neither. There is still a temporary ban on inmates shredding but no long term solution is in place. They expect to have an RFP out for shredding soon but it is still a work in progress.  I hope it isn’t just the court buying time until the media has moved on to put the inmates back in charge.

Joe Hirsch took the route of starting with self-storage company and then branched out into shredding. He runs A Safe Keeping in Middle and Lower townships. With more self-storage operators looking to get into records storage then this trend is likely to increase. What surprises me about Hirsch is he operates a mobile shredding truck.

The other rise in shredding is coming from office supply stores. They have bins provided from local contractors. When the bins are full the shred truck comes out and empties them. It is a good solution for the home with a handful of papers to destroy. Larger volumes can get cost prohibitive since there is a cost for the retail front.

What is unique to Lind process is that he took bags of shredded paper and put the pices back together. The pieces were found by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at his home. They were described as two inches long and a quarter-inch wide.

Most security experts advise shredding paper in a cross-cut shredder. They say that is enough to protect your information from identity thieves. But here is an exmple where that isn’t enough. With each check being a unique color I can imagine it was not too many pieces for any particular check.

Not only should the paper be shredded but the shreds should be destroyed. This can be done by spreading the shreds over several loads of trash or putting it in with wet materials.

But there is a much better solution. When paper is recycled it is put in a big vat of water. It can best be described as an industrial sized blender. The ink and imperfections are floated off and what is left is paper pulp. The paper is now absolutely and completely destroyed. The best part is now the paper is re-used instead of ending up in a landfill. And it takes less energy than using virgin wood pulp.

So make sure you shreds are getting recycled. You can take it to the local recycling plant or use a shredding service that not only shreds but recycles. If you don’t have a service then you can find one at Shred Nations.

If there was medical information then it must be shredded to comply with HIPAA. If they didn’t then they must be shredded to comply with FACTA. And there are also state laws in Indiana that required the shredding of personal information.

While there are a multitude of laws that require shredding it is easy to comply with them all at once. Just hire an Indianapolis shredding service. They can handle all the destruction and provide a certificate. If security, cost, and convenience are not important to your business then the work can be done in-house.

Deborah Altice, Deputy Registrar, said the problem was from the paper being mistakenly put in with the trash. She said the were now going to shred all office paper using on site shredding.

Every organization should have a detailed document destruction program. That will outline everything that must be shredded and how it is to be done. The more complex the program the harder it is to follow. You can detail every type of document to be destroyed but then you are adding in complexity that will lead to errors like at the registrar’s office. The easier solution is to just shred all office paper. With the incrmental cost of shredding so low this is the best option when dealing with sensitive information.

The only way to prevent companies from going out of business and dumping the information in the trash would be laws that would hold the principles responsible. If there were fines greater than the cost of shredding they would make sure care was taken. San Antonio shredding services can get the amount described destroyed for a limited amount of money. 

The police the increase in such a targeted area is from dumpster divers. They go through the trash and look for sensitve information that wasn’t shredded. This is easier and more profitable than selling drugs for many crime rings.

The good news is that it is easy to protect the information put in the trash. You can buy a shredder. This is fine for a few sheets at a time. Just make sure to not overheat the shredder with continous ussage.

When it starts to pile up or you are cleaning out a shredding service is a better fit. You can take it in to a drop off shredding location. This is great for a box or two worth of shredding. Don’t want to cart it around then you can have it picked up from your home with Ship ‘n’ Shred.

Have more than a couple boxes then it is most cost effective to send in the shredding truck. This is the big guns. Large volumes of shredding is done very quickly so it is less expensive than the alternatives.

I have been waiting for them to air the episode where they just purchased a unit full of sensitive information. But I doubt that w0uld make for a very interesting show. That footage most likely ends up being deleted for the person who finds the expensive painting.

But the problem of businesses who abandon documents at self storage units is a real one. The owners of Aspen Mini-storage in Tulsa, Oklahoma recently opened a unit with an estimated 1,500 pounds of records. They included private information of their clients. A shredding service was called in to securely destroy the documents. The local news was called about the story so it is only a few days before the follow up with them chasing the owner with cameras.

The fire department responded to reports of  smoke at the office. The sprinkler system was able to extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire was determined to be the offices shredder.

It doesn’t appear the fire caused a lot of damage but the sprinkler system sure will. It is unknown the total damage and the amount of equipment and records destroyed. The office will have to be closed as the damage is repaired.

It is impossible to eliminat the risk of fire with a shredder. The options are to take on the risks in the hands of untrained employees or leave them to experts in operating shredding equipment. A shredding service takes away the risk of fire  in the average office. But fire risk is a small reason to outsource behind saving money and increasing security.

When you are tired of shredding backing up give Shred Nations a try. You can be up and running with a custom shredding program in days.