To nearly any business or individual, paper shredding is a necessary part of protecting yourself from risks like identity theft and fraud. With this in mind, here we’ve provided a step-by-step breakdown of our document shredding services process.
This guide is to help you understand how our services work, ranging from mobile to drop-off shredding. Moreover, you’ll know just how easy it can be to find reliable local shredding providers near your home or business.
Document shredding services are a great way to make shredding your files both time-efficient as well as convenient. Whether you’re using mobile shredding services or taking your documents to a drop-off location, the process is a simple one. They’re the perfect remedy for the headaches of shredding yourself.
At Shred Nations, we partner with a nationwide network of reliable, local shredding providers. We help connect those in need of document destruction services with contractors who can get the job done whatever your project requirements may be.
Step 1: Figure Out How Much Paper You Have to Shred
To get ready for a document destruction project some people may think they need to go through every individual paper to remove staples and the like. In reality, the only real work is figuring out how much paper you have to shred.
With a basic office paper shredder, you will probably need to take the detailed steps for prep work to prevent jams. Still, the industrial shredders used with any of our services can handle as many as 20,000 documents an hour. They can chew through staples, paper clips, and binder clips with ease.
Typically the best document destruction service to fit your project is determined based on how many boxes or pounds of paper you have. A standard file box (15” x 12” x 10”) can hold between 2,000 and 2,500 sheets of paper and weighs 30–35 lbs.
If however, you use a different storage method—like on shelves or in filing cabinets—and instead need a different way to figure out how much paper you need to shred, you can also find help with Shred Nations’ shredding helper tool. The tool can calculate the number of boxes and weights you have. Additionally, it provides the most cost-efficient shredding service to meet your scheduling, security, and budgetary needs.
Step 2: Determine Which Shredding Service Fits Your Project
Our shredding calculator tool can guide you through figuring out how much paper you have and directly connect you with the ideal service to match. However, seeing the larger overview of our services and how much you can expect them to cost is also helpful.
Service Options
- Drop-Off Shredding – Drop-off shredding is best in terms of price for smaller-sized projects. The average nationwide pricing is $1 per pound, but the price per pound will vary by your location.
- Mobile Shredding – Mobile shredding avoids needing to haul documents to a location. Instead, a mobile truck comes to your location to shred on-site. The average cost is around $130-$175 for a project between 1-10 boxes. However, pricing varies based on location, project size, and more.
- Community Shred Events – Shredding events offer communities and businesses the opportunity to take advantage of mobile shredding’s benefits at a more affordable cost. Hosting an event is a great way for businesses to advertise in their area. Residents and organizations come together and protect members of their community from identity theft or fraud.
- Off-Site Shredding – Providers still come to your location to pick up documents, but instead take them to an off-site facility for shredding. Because the provider doesn’t shred on-site, the service becomes increasingly cost-efficient the larger the number of boxes you need to shred. The national average is $110-$130 for projects 1-10 boxes. However, it will also vary on your location, size, and other factors.
- Hard Drive Destruction – When businesses and individuals need to shred more than just paper, hard drive destruction services are also available. It handles the destruction, disposal, and recycling of hard drives and other electronics with sensitive information.
- Ship N Shred – Ship N Shred is a unique service that lets you ship your documents to a secure facility. All you have to do is box up your documents and schedule a pickup through FedEx. Our service provider will take care of the rest. You can track the entire process and will receive a certificate of destruction when the shredding is complete.
Step 3: Find and Select a Local Shredding Provider
Once you determine the right service, the last step is simply selecting a provider and scheduling a date for service. From there, we can handle the rest.
How to Find A Local Shredding Provider
- Afterwards, our representatives contact you, providing multiple pricing options from contractors in the area. Among these, you can evaluate and select the right nearby provider to meet your project budget, volume, and location.
- Schedule a time with your shredding provider. Depending on your service, our contractors will either come to you to shred documents on-site for your convenience. Or, you can have them picked up for shredding at a secure off-site facility.
- During the document destruction process, papers are shredded using industrial cross-cutting shredders. Once the process is complete, paper shreds are finally recycled and turned into pulp for sustainable future reuse.
If on the other hand, you only have a few sheets of paper to shred, you can also always opt for drop-off shredding. It may be the most convenient of all available options for a couple of boxes.
We have drop-off locations throughout the nation. There may be one as close as just a few miles from your house or even one you’re passing each day on the way home from work. This makes drop-off ideal for shredding small amounts of documents when all it takes is a five-minute stop.
Step 4: Receive Your Certificate of Destruction
Once you schedule with a shredding provider or take your documents to a drop-off location, the process is essentially complete. However, this doesn’t mean we don’t still have something to offer for you.
When the project is complete, your provider can give you a certificate of destruction. A certificate of destruction details the shredding process. It includes the specifics on the chain of custody as well as who did the shredding, where the shredding was done, and when the shredding was completed. Additionally, providing a certificate of destruction post-shredding helps to ensure the project was completed by state and federal laws and regulations for document destruction such as HIPAA or FACTA.
Start The Document Shredding Process Today!
Start with either scheduling with a shredding service or comparing quotes for your project today. Fill out the form or just give us a call at (800) 747-3365 for free quotes from providers in your area.
