The cheapest way to shred documents

Businesses have a legal and moral obligation to protect the confidential data of their customers. One way to do this is by properly shredding documents that contain such information. But many businesses don’t know how or where to start when it comes to document shredding. In this article, we’ll explore the cheapest way to shred documents and some common mistakes businesses make.

Why you need to shred documents

1. To protect the privacy of customers
2. To protect the company from legal action
3. To prevent identity theft

The confidential data of customers must be protected by businesses. One way to do this is by properly shredding documents that contain such information. Here are three reasons why businesses should shred documents:

1. To protect the privacy of customers

By shredding documents that contain such confidential and secure information, businesses can ensure that the privacy of their customers is protected.

2. To protect the company from legal action

Businesses must protect themselves from legal action by shredding documents that contain confidential data.

If a business is sued for releasing private information about its customers, it will be much harder to defend itself if that information is still in possession of the company. The best way to avoid this scenario is to shred all documents that contain confidential data. This will protect the company from legal action and from any damages that may be awarded to the plaintiff.

3. To prevent identity theft

Identity theft is a major problem in today’s society. If confidential data falls into the wrong hands, it can be used to steal the identities of customers. By shredding documents, businesses can help to prevent identity theft and protect the people who have entrusted them with their confidential data.

Five ways to shred documents

1. Scissors
2. Personal shredder
3. Commercial shredder
4. Burn documents
5. Local shredding company

Shredding documents is important but the process can be expensive. Here are five options for businesses to shred documents cheaply:

Use scissors

Most people know that you can shred documents with a paper shredder, but did you know that you can also do it with scissors? While it’s not the most efficient way to do it, scissors are a cheap and easy way to get the job done and it can be done anywhere.

Points to consider
It takes a long time shredding documents with scissors and your time could probably be better spent elsewhere. Also, it’s not a secure way of shredding documents so the sensitive information on them can easily be reconstructed.

Use a personal shredder

The cheapest way to shred documents is by using a personal paper shredder. This option costs around $30 on average. The main advantage of using a personal shredder is that it is very convenient and can be used at any time.

One downside is that personal shredders are not as powerful as commercial ones and can only handle a limited amount of paper. Another downside is that they are time-consuming, as each sheet of paper must be fed into the shredder individually.

Use a commercial shredder

Another option for businesses is to use a commercial paper shredder. This option typically costs between $200 and $500. The advantage of using a commercial shredder is that it is very powerful and can handle a large amount of paper.

One downside of using a commercial shredder is that it can be expensive. You will also need to have enough space to store the shredder, which can be a problem for small businesses.

Burn documents

Although this is not paper shredding it may be an option for some businesses. Burning documents is cheap and a simple way to destroy documents but it also has some drawbacks.

As we’ve already said it’s cheap all you need is a match or lighter and a place to burn the documents.

Obviously open flames can be dangerous, especially if you have a lot of paper to burn. So make sure you have a safe place to burn the documents. It can be time-consuming if you have a lot of documents to destroy, it will take a long time to burn them all.

So, burning is a cheap and easy way to destroy documents, but it’s not always the most effective.

Use a local shredding company

Another option for businesses is to use a local shredding service. This option typically costs between $50 and $100 per month. The advantage of using a local shredding service is that it is more convenient than using a personal shredder. The service will come to your business and pick up the documents that need to be shredded. They can shred your documents on-site or off-site in secure location and once they have finished they will provide you with a certificate of destruction.

One downside of using a local shredding service is that it can be more expensive than using a personal shredder. Another downside is that you will have to wait for the service to come and pick up the documents, which can take a few days.

Common mistakes when shredding documents

There are a few things to keep in mind when shredding documents. Make sure that the document is shredded into small pieces so that it cannot be reconstructed. Also, be sure that the shredding process is done in a secure location to prevent data from being stolen.

GDPR states, “Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or purposes.” It is important to comply with the regulation otherwise it can result in criminal prosecution or monetary penalties of up to 4% of your company’s annual turnover. So make sure you are destroying documents in a timely manner.

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