You Have Questions. We Have Answers
I have records I want to have destroyed. What are my options?
You have several options, each of which vary in terms of security and cost.
1. You can purchase a good office shredder and shred it yourself. This option provides the highest level of security, but has several drawbacks. Most office shredders are limited to less than 10 documents at a time and all fasteners, but staples must be removed. It will take an entire day to destroy what Shredding Solutions Inc. can handle in less than fifteen minutes.
2. You can take your documents to a local Recycler who will naturally destroy your documents in their process, however most paper is just baled and sold on the open market, frequently going over seas. Some Recyclers have a shredding capability and this is your least expensive option, however this is generally considered the least secure method.
3. You can use a Shredding Service. A Shredding Service will come to your location and either shred your documents On-Site or take them back to their facility to be shredded.
What is the difference between On-Site Shredding and Off-Site Shredding?
An Off-Site shredding service will issue a Certificate of Destruction just like an On-Site service. They will come to your location, collect the material, take it back to their facility and promise to shred it, usually within 24 hours. Based upon a survey of Off-Site shredding services in the Bay Area, the cost of shredding 70 banker boxes would be approximately 15% less expensive than using Shredding Solutions Inc.'s On-Site service.
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What is a Certificate of Destruction?
A shredding service issues a certificate saying they destroyed the material given to them.
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Does a Certificate of Destruction guarantee my documents were destroyed? What if something I thought was shredded turns up later?
There is no guarantee with any type of service. Recycling companies have been known to issue Certificates of Destruction because the material does end up being destroyed in the recycling process. Since any shredding service does not know what is given to them or if there are other copies, they can offer no guarantee that any particular document was destroyed. The only way to be absolutely sure is to shred yourself or to use an On-Site service where you can watch the material being destroyed.
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Why is On-Site shredding more expensive than Off-Site?
Historically, Off-Site shredding services are companies in the recycling business, which have added a dimension to their business by offering shredding. They are able to sort their clients documents into the various types before shredding and get a higher price from the paper mills. They are also able to save money by using a much less expensive truck for collections than a truck configured with a shredder.
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Will Shredding Solutions Inc. recycle my shredded documents?
Yes. All shredded paper products are taken to a local Recycler where it is baled and sent to a paper mill.
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What if my material has staples, paper clips or other fasteners?
These items are no problem for either our shredders or the Recyclers.
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Carbon paper is a contaminant and is treated like plastic materials.
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As big as it wants to be as long as it has six sides. All kidding aside, we try to convert customer volume estimates into a standard banker box in order to determine the price estimate as well as when we have time in our schedule to do the job. A standard banker box is the width of a letter file and the length of a legal file. A copy paper box is 125% of the size of a banker box. Some file boxes are the size of a filing cabinet drawer. A filing cabinet drawer box is 175% of the size of a banker box. A refrigerator box is too big and the material will need to be removed in order for us to feed the shredder.
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What if I book a job, but the estimated volume of material grows?
This is a very frequent occurrence. While we will make every effort to complete the job, there will be times when we cannot, due to commitments to other customers. If there is going to be more than 10 boxes extra, please call and let us know.
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Scheduled Service by an On-Site shredding service is an alternative to shredding the day to day confidential documents with an office shredder. We place our locked Executive Consoles in the offices of our clients and return on a set schedule to shred the contents. There is not a shredder inside of the consoles, rather a large bag into which the documents are deposited. When we come to service the site, the consoles remain stationary. We remove the full bags, secure them and place an empty bag inside of the console. The full bags are then transported to our shredder truck in the parking lot where the material is destroyed. Materials are never left unattended or unsecured prior to shredding.
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How do I know if I have the proper number of consoles and proper service frequency?
For the first 90 days of service, we will note the fill level of each console on the invoice. The client can then decide whether to remove, add or move consoles or change the frequency. Extension of this monitoring period is available upon request.
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What are the charges for delivering or removing consoles?
There are no charges for delivery or pickup. There are also no charges for the use of our consoles. Discounts are provided however, based upon the frequency of service.
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Why does Shredding Solutions Inc. charge a flat fee for console service rather than by the time?
The speed at which a shredder destroys material is dependent upon a number of factors including the type of shredder, humidity, sharpness of the knives, type of paper and the way the shredder is fed the paper. We have found that our clients do not wish to be concerned about the speed at which the Shredding Solutions Inc.'s employee or equipment works. By setting a fixed price per console, this is not the clients problem. Clients are also able to budget for the service in this fashion.
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How big are Shredding Solutions Inc.'s consoles?
Our Executive Consoles are 20 inches square by 40 inches high and will hold three banker boxes of paper. There is a slot in the front for documents to be inserted. Since the console remains stationary, the client can use the top for a horizontal work surface.
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What if the console nearest some staff member is full?
They have the option of taking their material to next nearest console or leaving the material near the console clearly marked for shredding. We will not collect and shred material if it is not marked nor seek someone out to give the approval just because
it is sitting on top of the console. With shredding, there is no reconstruction and we cannot make mistakes of this nature.
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You Have Questions. We Have Answers.
