How to dispose of confidential documents
Many types of documents must be disposed of in a confidential manner. These can include financial reports, personnel records, legal documents, and tax information. While these documents would otherwise likely need to be retained for a certain period of time, companies must still follow strict document disposal practices. There are several reasons for this: document disposal ensures document confidentiality, document disposal reduces the price of document management, document disposal protects the identity of the document owner, document disposal avoids littering or illegal dumping.
Document destruction services are available that allow businesses to not only safely get rid of confidential documents that no longer need to be kept on file, but also to keep the information off of their property.
Confidential Document Disposal Regulations:
Privacy needs and government regulations often mandate document destruction. It can also be required of organizations as a good business practice, such as preventing identity theft. There are a number of document types that need to be destroyed securely, including bank records, legal documents, medical files, and financial data. In some cases, document destruction is mandated for practical reasons as well as legal ones. Other times document destruction is required because it can save money long term.
Organizations need to check their local governments to see whether they are required by laws or regulations to dispose of documents in a confidential manner. If they are, document disposal services provide the secure disposal of confidential documentation needed to meet these laws and regulations.
Sensitive document disposal is a must for any organization that handles customer, supplier, or employee information. To collect the document disposal information, companies should work with a document disposal service provider who can properly dispose of confidential documentation. Documents containing personal data may have to be shredded by specific types of industrial-sized machines so they cannot be reassembled. Many document destruction services send documents through multiple industrial shredders for this reason.
Confidential Document Disposal Process:
Once a document has been identified as no longer needed, document destruction can be an effective way to keep the document confidential and prevent identity theft. This document should be shredded before it is discarded.
Companies must determine their document destruction needs and follow them up with a secure document disposal plan such as shredding so that they avoid fines or criminal penalties for not adhering to document disposal laws
The first step in document destruction is document identification. In this stage, a document owner creates a document retention schedule and designates which document types will require secure disposal. Content that may be protected by document retention and document disposal laws should be identified in this step.
The document owner then makes a document destruction request to the document destruction organization. In response, the document destruction service will send someone to pick up the documents securely within a specified time period. The document shredder can also work with other companies for secure document disposal.
The document destruction service then securely destroys the document using a document shredder that cuts up papers into tiny pieces of paper, making it impossible to read what was on the document. The document destruction service will also ensure that any information contained in an electronic format is either deleted or destroyed so that it can’t be recovered afterward.
The next step:
The second step in document destruction is document storage. Those documents not designated for immediate shredding may be stored securely by a document management company with transportation and destruction services if necessary. When document destruction is complete, the document owner will receive a document certificate of destruction giving them legal document disposal evidence that the document was destroyed.
The next step in document destruction is recycling. Any material shredded can be recycled for other purposes by document destruction companies so it doesn’t become litter or fill up landfills. Many documents shredding services offer document recycling services. Some document disposal companies handle the entire document destruction process, including document storage and document recycling.
Companies should consult with their document shredder to determine their document disposal needs, then create an appropriate document retention schedule that addresses all aspects of document disposal. They may also need to work with a separate company for managing documents in electronic format to be sure that they are properly destroyed.
The document destruction process will vary by document type, document owner, document disposal service, and document retention schedule, but generally starts with document identification followed by document storage and finally document destruction. The act of securely destroying documents may need to meet certain criteria for legal or practical reasons as well as document disposal. This document should then be shredded before it can be discarded.
The document destruction process is easy and efficient with the help of document management companies. Many document management companies offer document storage services, document destruction services, and document recycling services along with client document retrieval and document scanning services.
Secure document disposal is essential for legal compliance and reducing identity theft risks, so all confidential documents must be securely disposed of when they are no longer needed.
Most document disposal services send the document through various types of industrial-sized shredders that tear it into confetti-like pieces. According to document disposal service providers, few companies are willing to trust their document destruction with anyone other than their document disposal service provider.
Many document disposal services will also provide customers with a certificate of destruction that they can keep on file in case an auditor or regulator requests proof that the document was destroyed. There are document disposal services that specialize in particular types of document destruction, such as legal document disposal, financial document disposal, medical record document disposal, etc.
On-Site Confidential Document Disposal:
There are document disposal service providers that will provide secure document shredding services on-site at the request of their customers. If this is required, they often charge more because it requires additional time, equipment, and labor.
On-site document destruction can be used to prevent the theft of valuable paper from a document disposal service provider’s facility as well as ensure document disposal compliance with local laws and regulations for secure document disposal
Document shredding is not the only way to dispose of confidential documents. Some document disposal services will provide document destruction where documents are pulped rather than shredded. The document disposal service provider’s equipment is able to separate the fibers of paper so that they cannot be recombined. This type of document destruction process has the advantage of not creating potentially hazardous fine particles, which can contaminate groundwater if accidentally released after document shredding.
