How Frequently Should Document Shredding be Scheduled?

Like getting your teeth cleaned and changing the smoke alarm batteries, scheduling document shredding is one of those essential tasks that’s nevertheless easy to forget. You know the security risks of trashing sensitive documents, and you know that it’s a bad use of company resources to have an employee shred papers a few at a time, every day, in a machine that constantly gets jammed. But if you’re not sure how often to schedule those professional shredding sessions, it’s easy for this task to fall off your to-do list.

Scheduling Your Document Shredding

So how often does your business need to clear out its documents and schedule a shredding session?

This might not be the definitive answer you’re hoping for, but it really depends on your specific needs. A business that generates thousands of must-shred pieces of paper per week might need to schedule a pickup every month. Another business might produce far fewer sensitive documents, but security concerns require that documents be shredded at the end of each week. Some businesses have inconsistent shredding needs that affect scheduling. For example, an accountant’s office might do sporadic shredding during most of the year but schedule weekly pickups during tax season.

Paper shredding

Factors That Might Affect Your Document Shredding Frequency

  •   State and Local Laws Many government agencies on both the state and local level are scrambling to create legislation that protects Americans’ privacy in the Internet age. Data disposal and privacy laws are part of that movement. If local laws regulate the way your business protects and disposes of sensitive information, adhering to a strict shredding policy is essential. Here in Massachusetts, Chapter 93I of the Massachusetts General Laws requires that paper documents containing certain personal information of Massachusetts residents be “redacted, burned, pulverized or shredded.”
  •   Industry Regulations Shredding is not just encouraged but required in some industries. If your business works with proprietary designs that your competitors would love to access, for example, frequent shredding is important. Conversely, your industry might also determine what your business is not allowed to shred. A company that must legally retain its documents for a set period of time may not not require regular document shredding services.
  •   Corporate Policy Does your business or location fall under the umbrella of a larger corporation? Data and identity theft are top concerns for major corporations, which can see their international reputations and their profits destroyed by breaches. That’s why a lot of these companies are developing protocols around data disposal. It’s worth checking your corporate policies for  specific guidance around shredding sensitive information.
  •   Your Location If your business is located in a rural area, scheduling less frequent shredding sessions and storing your to-be-shredded documents between pickups might be the most cost-effective strategy. If you’re located near a document shredding facility, scheduling frequent pickups or arranging to drop off your documents could be the best strategy.
  •   Your Storage Space Are you so stretched for space that your storage and garbage areas are constantly overflowing? Even if your obsolete documents aren’t supersensitive in nature, scheduling more frequent shredding appointments is one way to keep paper clutter from building up.
  •   Your Security Reputation Your business has to be especially diligent about security if you’ve had a previous breach, or if security is one of the selling points you use when attracting customers and clients. Adhering to a strict document shredding schedule can be a selling point if you can promise your audience that their sensitive information will be shredded as soon as your business is done using it.

If you’re still unsure about how to approach scheduling document shredding, consult the experts! Give the team at Northeast Data Destruction some information about your business and its needs and we’ll help you figure out how to maximize efficiency and minimize costs.

Our shredding system can process over 60 tons of material per day, but we’re not restricted to high-volume clients. Northeast Data Destruction frequently serves small-business customers with limited or infrequent document shredding needs. Contact us to discuss your options.