Document recycling and security: Can you have it both ways?
Any office will generate paper waste which must be destroyed securely, sometimes because of the Privacy Act, and sometimes just through sensible policies and customer relations. However, businesses are also under pressure to recycle more of their waste, and you may be tempted to place your documents in the recycling bin instead. After all, the documents will be destroyed when they are recycled, surely?
The bad news is that by using ordinary recycling bins, you are placing your business and your customers at risk of a security breach. There are numerous places in the process where your data could be stolen. Firstly, the bins themselves are unlikely to be secure. It is easy for unauthorised persons to search through the bins looking for personal data or sensitive information, and many cases of fraud happen within the organisation. Secondly, the emptied bins are likely to be left outside in plastic bags for collection. They may now be in a public place and available to anyone who wants to go snooping through them. If they aren't stolen here, the documents are then transported elsewhere for processing. They are unlikely to be held securely, there will be no guaranteed destruction time and, crucially, you will have no certificate of destruction or other proof that the data was not stolen. You may be fulfilling your recycling targets, but from the moment the documents were placed in the bins, you have no idea what has happened to them or who has seen them.
A document destruction service is far more secure. For one thing, the original bins will be locked in a container from which they cannot be retrieved. The documents will then either be shredded on-site or transported securely to a processing plant. The personnel will have undergone police checks and will be under CCTV surveillance at all times. And after the documents are destroyed, you will be given a certificate of destruction to prove that you complied with your obligations.
And the good news is your destroyed documents will still be recycled. The shredded paper will be sent to a paper mill where it will be used to make paper, cardboard and other recycled products. This uses much less energy and water than manufacturing paper from scratch.
Recycling bins are great for non-sensitive information, but a document destruction service can guarantee the security of your information as well as help to fulfill your obligations to the environment.
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