The cost of document shredding depends on a number of key factors, such as: how much there is, how accessible it is, what the postcode is and whether on-site or off-site shredding is required. Topwood are able to provide on-site document shredding and off-site document shredding services for both paper shredding and media shredding. We can also offer off-site product shredding for the destruction of uniforms and branded products. Read on to find out how we work out our prices for your confidential shredding.

The prices for all of our confidential shredding vary according to the particular service and there are discounts available for high volume shredding. Our prices are based on fixed pounds (£) per kilogram (KG) as this provides full transparency. For our document shredding services, our mobile shred trucks weigh all material so we know exactly how many kilograms have been shredded and therefore provide invoices based on that amount.

Contents 1. Key factors that affect the cost of document shredding 2. Questions we’ll ask you about your shredding 3. How much does it cost to shred documents? 4. What do you do with shredded paper? 5. Can you shred electronic data?

Key factors that affect the cost of document shredding:

Type of material to be shredded (paper documents, media, products)

Shredded on-site or off-site

Shredding / collection location (are you on one of our regular shredding routes?)

How accessible is the material (for example if in a basement or attic)

The quality of the paper (is it all white paper, or mixed?)

Whether any shredding receptacles are required prior to the shred visit (e.g. shred sacks and tags)

We will always provide a competitive quote based on your preferred unit based on our £ per KG rates, for example per box (depending on the box size), per pallet or per sack (we supply paper and poly-prop sacks). You will receive a certificate of destruction after your documents have been disposed on safely and securely.

Contact us now for a free quote using our contact form or our live chat

Questions we’ll ask you about your shredding:

How much do you have to shred? We will ask you to try and quantify it into bin bags, archive boxes or wheelie bins – and ask you how many you have (e.g. 5, 10, 50 etc.?)What is your postcode? We need this to determine if you are on one of our regular routes and how accessible your location is. This will help us give you the most competitive prices.Would you like on-site or off-site shredding? If you would like more information about our on-site document shredding service and our off-site document shredding services click on the links.

Our sales team take into account each of the criteria above to give you an accurate quote that reflects the service you require.

Take a look at our on-site document shredding process in the videos below.

How much does it cost to shred documents?

Unlike some of the national shredding companies we do NOT charge per minute – this encourages inefficiencies… the slower the shredding the higher the cost! Often for customers it is hard to estimate the total KG for us to quote on, instead it is easier to estimate the number of units. For example how many: lever arch files, archive boxes, sacks, linear metres of filing, pallets or filing cabinets to be destroyed. With this information we can estimate the number of KG and convert that to a quote in the unit of measure that you have. This process allows you to calculate a total job cost and compare like for like with other shredding companies.

What do you do with shredded paper?

At Topwood, our customers’ shredded confidential papers are transported to the paper mill inside our secure shred trucks for recycling. At the recycling centre, the paper is made into pulp as the fibres of the shredded paper are separated. The pulp is put through a screening process – filtering out inpurities and preparing for printer ink removal. The newly recycled pulp is mixed with fresh pulp to manufacture new paper products.

Can you shred electronic data?

Yes! The physical destruction of electronic media is the safest way to ensure your confidential information can never be recovered. The on-site destruction of hard drives, backup tapes and mobile devices is preferred by many compliance and IT managers as it means they can witness the destruction and ensures a data breach cannot occur. Take a look at our media destruction page for more information.

Yes. Customers receive a written quotation and once accepted it forms a contract. UK data legislation requires data controllers to have contracts with their data processors. The contract provides Customers with the assurance that Topwood will use all the technical and operational measures required to ensure the secure destruction of sensitive data.

The Data Protection Act 2018 (which incorporates the EU’s GDPR) places increased liability on data controllers to ensure the appropriate security of their data, including the safe disposal of personal information.

Topwood’s quotes outline the key terms of the commercial agreement including:

– price

– material to be destroyed

– service frequency (ad hoc bulk shredding or regular)

– on-site or off-site destruction

– receptables (consoles, wheelie bins) and consumables (shred sacks, security tags) to be supplied, and;

– contract term (including period of notice to terminate – three months in the case of shecduled shredding).

This is the case for our document shredding and media shredding services too. To see an example of our on-site shredding quote below which establishes the basis of the contract:

Data controllers should not be lured into signing long term commercial agreements. Contracts simply needs to provide information of sufficient security measures that the data processor has in place to safeguard data. Such measures might include security vetted staff to BS7858, shredding industry standard EN15713 and that a certificate of destruction will be supplied once shredding had been completed.

Unlike some shredding companies, especially the national shredding companies, Topwood do not bind its customers into long term contracts. We rely on our high service levels and innovation to ensure long term partnership with customers.

Our contracts and terms of business provide customers with the assurance that the destruction of data will comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR).

Whenever reviewing shredding companies, data controllers must in turn take reasonable steps and checks to ensure that the security measures are being put into practice. For example, checking companies for standards such as ISO: 27001.

Topwood have a procedure in place to ensure you receive a traceable, complete audit trial every time. From quotation, work orders, purchase orders and Certificates of Destruction to Waste Transfer Notes and Invoices, the Topwood Audit Trail is transparent and easy to follow.

Topwood’s Audit Trail:

1. You will receive a free, written quotation
2. After your acceptance we will create a work order on our system using a purchase order supplied by you.
3. Once shredding is complete, you will be asked to sign, and an e-receipt is emailed directly to your inbox before the driver is even off site.
4. When we close the work order on the system, you will receive a free Certificate of Destruction and Waste Transfer Note via email. The two documents can be cross-referenced with the e-receipt.
5. An Invoice will be emailed out at the end of the month. The invoice also references the e-receipt and Certificate of Destruction.

See our video below for more details:

Many businesses think storing documents in back offices and storerooms is a low cost option. In fact, keeping documents and files incurs a huge cost and bulk shredding will improve the efficiency of your workplace. Read on to find out more.

Bulk shredding is the periodic clearance of shred sacks and archive boxes that gradually accumuate in back offices, storerooms and warehouses. Keeping your office clear of these documents ensures you can optimise the use of your space and staff, keep the risk of a data breach to a minimum, and maximise the welfare of personnel.

A regular document shredding service is where your office is kept free of sensitive information when users deposit unwanted papers into lockable containers such as consoles. These containers, supplied free on loan, keep the information safe until the contents are shredded on-site by our security vetted staff. After the documents have been shredded a Certificate of Destruction is emailed to you. The shredded paper is then taken for recycling.

A bulk shredding service will help your business for three key reasons:

1) Space taken up with obsolete documents will be made free for productive use. Commercial space is expensive in terms of rent rates, utility and maintenace costs so this ensures you will be able to earn revenue from the area. Not only will space be freed up but so too will your staff as they will not spend time dealing with obsolete files.

2) Keeping back offices, storerooms and warehouses free of sensive documents denies someone the chance to pry for sensitve information about your business, customers and employees.

3) The build up of files and boxes creates Health and Safety issues. Boxes stacked in corridors and blocking fire exits are a hazard to your staff and even your customers. Even the manual handling of boxes and files poses a risk of injury to your staff.

On-site shredding is done at your workplace. It guarantees the shortest chain of custody and so, by definition is the most secure option. This contrasts with off-site destruction (when confidential waste is collected and taken away) which has a longer chain of custody. The shorter the chain the less chance of a security breach. Read on to find out more.

New Regulations for Data Controllers

The new GDPR places greater liability on data controllers to prevent against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental destruction or damage, using the appropriate technical or organisational measures. Having your documents shredded on-site removes the need to audit the controls and premises used in the off-site destruction process. Documents and media shredded on-site by a professional shredding company means the chain of custody is minimal which reduces the risks of potential breaches ensuring you are compliant with the new Data Protection Act due to come into force in May 2018.

On-site or Off-site?

We offer two types of secure shredding: or off-site. While off-site shredding is still secure and may be the most convenient for some companies, we will always recommend on-site shredding as it involves the shortest chain of custody, and is therefore the most secure. You can find more information about the difference between on-site and off-site shredding here. On-site shredding is where your confidential paperwork is taken straight to the shred truck and shredded immediately at your premises. During the chain of custody, a security vetted staff member is constantly responsible for your confidential paperwork.

Three Reasons to Choose Topwood On-site Shredding:

1) We do more than you think

We can shred large volumes of paperwork on-site. Not only do we shred all kinds of documents, we can also destroy hard drives, USBs, CDs, video and data tapes in the same visit due to our separate shredders on board our mobile MDX shred trucks. We also supply you with a Certificate of Destructionafter the shredding has been completed.

2) Secure

With regular shredding visits and lockable shredding consoles (more about shredding receptacles), paperwork is disposed of immediately and securely. The consoles are emptied at every visit by one of our security vetted staff members and the contents are securely taken to the shred truck outside. The console bag is then emptied into the paper shredder. There are no opportunities for tampering during our process. You can view the process and see the paperwork being shredded yourself. Our MDX shred trucks cross-cut your sensitive documents to the standard required by NHS general practices and the Ministry of Justice.

3) Compliance

We are one of the only companies in the North West with ISO:27001 accreditation. Data controllers must make every effort to ensure the data processors are compliant; this award guarantees that we comply with the highest standards. Compliance is important for your company too: the Data Protection Act requires the destruction of all sensitive data to a sufficient level that it cannot be reconstructed.

Topwood is an independent document shredding firm based near Whitchurch in Shropshire with a core customer base in the West Midlands, North Wales and the North West. A number of national shredding contracts demonstrates that we can provide scheduled shredding services UK-wide. Our membership with The Shredding Alliance ensures we can provide full UK coverage on a next-day basis. Read on to find out more.

Contents 1.
What shredding services are available near me?
2. Regular document shredding services
3. Bulk shredding services
4. Some of our on-site shredding service areas:

Our shredding services are concentrated in the Midlands/North West as shown by the concentric rings. However, many of our customers are national organisations and we can provide scheduled shredding services UK-wide to fulfil those requirements. For bulk clearance and urgent work our membership of the The Shredding Alliance allows us even greater flexibility than firms that try to cover every part of the UK in-house.

We can fulfil all your shredding needs so you benefit from a competitive nationwide price with a single point of contact. The service is quality assured to EN15713 and all staff are security vetted to BS7858. All the reporting, management information and Certificates of Destruction are managed centrally.

What document shredding services are available near me?

Topwood can offer a range of shredding services. The most popular and most secure service is our mobile on-site document shredding service which allows us to securely shred your papers right outside of your door. Our shred trucks are equipped with the latest high speed industrial shredders, which can shred 2 full archive boxes in 1 minute! The shred trucks pull up outside of your offices, home or storage units and the driver loads the confidential waste directly into the shredder, where you can see it being securely shredded if you wish. The on-site paper shredding process is the safest as it has the shortest chain of custody and passes through less hands. On-site is also the easiest option for bulk disposal where there are loose papers and pallets of archive boxes that need destroying. You can read more about of mobile on-site shredding by following the link.

Regular document shredding services

Topwood also offer regular document shredding services which involves the use of our shredding receptacles free on loan as part of a scheduled to ensure unwanted documents can be safely and easily deposited in you workplace. For more information about our regular document shredding service, click on the link and view our video. We can also provide hard drive destruction on-site and off-site on a regular basis or a one-off basis. On-site hard drive destruction allows you to dispose of your data cost effectively whilst adhering to data protection regulations and retention schedules.

Bulk shredding services

Topwood can also provide a one-off bulk shredding service or organisations that need to dispose of large amounts of confidential waste when files reach the end of their scheduled retention period. Unlike the large national shredding companies, we are very flexible and can offer quick next day shredding services. To read more about our bulk shredding services click on the link.

By choosing Topwood we can guarantee you a competitive alternative to the ‘sign here now – one size fits all‘ approach adopted by the multi-national shredding firms who have dominated the UK for the past 15 years. We quote based on your preferred unit for example £/kg, £/box, £/wheelie bin, £/file etc. We also don’t tie you in on a long term contract. If you would like to see how we work out our prices follow the link.

Some of our on-site shredding service areas:

Chester, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Wrexham, Liverpool/Wirral, North Wales, Nantwich, Crewe, Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Telford, Manchester, Oldham, Whitchurch, Lancashire, Staffordshire, Birmingham and West Midlands, Stoke-on-Trent.

If you are outside of the listed area, please get in touch as we may still be able to provide a paper shredding or hard drive destruction service to you.

Very! 100% of the paper we collect and shred is recycled into useful paper products. In fact, we go further in helping customers with their environmental responsibilities; not only do we recycle the paper we shred, we also plant trees for every 2000kg of paper we shred. Read on to find out more.

This explanation of our recycling process is taken from our website:

Topwood is proud of its 100% paper recycling rate. Once the paper documents are shredded beyond recovery they are fed into a paper baler. The baled paper is then graded and sent to UK paper mills for recycling. At the mills the paper is pulped using water and the debris is floated off or removed with electro magnets. The pulping process reverts the fibres back to their raw state by removing inks and other contaminates. The water is then extracted from the pulp and the fibres are dried, pressed and wound onto huge reels. These reels are then cut to smaller reels or sheets for printers and tissue manufacturers.

On top of recycling the shredded paper, we also plant trees on the Topwood site:

In March 2014 we planted over 600 oak saplings into the TopWood near our secure storage facility in Cheshire. Many of these trees will grow into mature oaks and will support the environment.Their leaf canopy improves the air we breathe by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen and their roots reduce flooding.By planting more we can capture carbon and give wildlife a helping hand.

Once the trees have grown to a suitable height, we plan to gift the trees to community projects around Shropshire, Cheshire and North Wales.

At Topwood we pride ourselves on our recycling policies and environmental projects. Help us to continue our environmental work by using Topwood for your confidential document Shredding service.

Topwood no longer offer on-site shredding for residential or domestic shredding. However, we welcome you to bring shredding to us on Wrexham Industrial Estate. Whether you work from home or simply have personal documents to safely dispose of, we offer a secure document destruction service. The process is easy: Step 1: Arrive and park up and notify reception. Step 2: A member of Topwood staff will meet you to take your confidential papers from you. Step 3: Your papers will be loaded into the shredder for you to witness. Step 4: We accept payment by cash or card after your papers have been shredded. Step 5: You will receive a certificate of destruction afterwards.

What can I bring to be shredded?

Topwood shred mostly confidential paper shredding that needs to be free from plastic and cardboard including plastic wallets, laminates and lever arch files. Stationery such as staples, paperclips and bulldog clips are all fine to leave in your confidential papers.

How do I pay?

We accept payment on the day which can be paid by card.

Where do I drop off my shredding?

You can drop off your shredding at our Walk In Shred Centre. Our full address is:

Topwood Ltd
36 Abenbury Way
Wrexham Industrial Estate
LL13 9UZ

Find out more information about our Walk in Shred Centre on Wrexham Industrial Estate by clicking on the link.

Free Shred Events

Topwood regularly hold free shredding events to raise awareness for ID theft and fraud as well as raising funds for charity. Our latest shred event held on 17th November 2018 at Tesco’s car park in Wrexham raised over £300.00 to go to Nightingale House Hospice. Keep an eye out on out social media and website for the next shred event.

Feel free to call us for a quote on 0800 781 1066.

Cross-cut shredding involves a secondary action that cuts strips like those an office shredder would cut, into much smaller fragments. Shred size does matter – the smaller the fragments the higher the security. Read on to find out more.

What is cross-cut shredding?

Cross-cut (or confetti shredding) is a method of paper shredding that involves cutting the paper in two directions, horizontally and vertically to increase the security level of the shredding process. The BSIA (British Security Industry Association) promotes the shredding standard EN15713 which defines various shred sizes. A less used but very important standard is DIN 66399.

What is the best type of paper shredder?

Standard shredding, where documents are cut into strips, is fine for normal commercial paperwork. Shred size for this type of shredder is typically 2000 sq mm. Cross-cut shredding involves a secondary action that cuts the strips into much smaller fragments, which is required by organisations such as NHS general practices and Ministry of Justice.

Topwood’s shred trucks are all fitted with the highest security shredders with the capability to shred to standard EN15713. By using mobile shred trucks, security is increased as a shred truck full of standard shredded paper contains over 50 million, small sized, shredded fragments that when mixed together makes any reconstruction impossible. Read more about why on-site shredded is safest here.

Office Shredder “Strip Cut” next to our high security “cross-cut” shredding.

High security fragments: Approx 2mm-8mm sq 750 million shredded fragments per truck load. It would be impossible to locate and reconstruct a document from these fragments.

Office shredded strips tend to leave office premises in bin bags; there may be only 300 strips per bin bag, which makes it far more likely that a document can be reconstructed.

This is taken from our article on our download centre on Shred Size: (Download Category: Managing the Risk).

Topwood Shredding offers a choice of shred size depending on your industry’s requirements. How do you know what shred size you need? A standard shred size is suitable for most commercially sensitive documents. However, regulations and corporate governance can stipulate higher security levels. When destroying restricted or classified documents a smaller shred size can be specified. For example, the UK Government’s CPNI standard covers the destruction of sensitive documents on behalf of government departments like the Ministry of Justice as well as NHS GP practices and it states documents must be cross-cut. Our destruction process uses state of the art shredders that completely destroy unwanted documents. In the UK the most referred to shredding standard is EN15713 but other standards for measuring shred size are used. For example the DIN Classification 66399 classifies shred sizes from P1 (largest) to P7 and is used in the specifications of office shredders. Unlike most shredding companies we have shred trucks that will cross cut documents for maximum security

Carry on reading here: Why shred size does matter

Regular shredding ensures sensitive files and documents do not accumulate in your workplace. Unwanted documents left exposed to prying eyes in the office and storage areas could put your staff, customers and even your business reputation at risk. Read on to find out more.

What are the benefits your regular shredding service?

Regular shredding ensures sensitive papers do not accumulate in your workplace.

Watch our video on regular shredding with our office consoles

Unwanted documents left exposed in the workplace put your staff, customers and your business reputation at risk.

Using our regular shredding service, you won’t need to worry about organising a visit; we will contact you to remind you when your next service is due and then arrange a suitable time.

We provide sealable sacks, lockable wheelie bins or consoles to keep your documents away from prying eyes until our scheduled visit.

On the scheduled day our security vetted staff collect the confidential papers and transfer them to shred truck where they are totally destroyed.

Once shredded they are taken away in our shred truck for recycling. Our regular shredding is a great alternative to the risky business of using office shredders.

Not only does our regular shredding service improve your office security it also makes good business sense.

Unwanted documents take up space and space is valuable. Our containers and consoles make disposal of documents easy so time is not wasted using office shredders – removing paperclips etc.

One of the first questions you will ask yourself when you consider looking for an industrial shredder hire firm is “what is the difference?” Office shredders take up time, money, and valuable resources that could be used to grow your business, not to mention the risk of security breaches. Read on to find out more.

You may think that an office shredder is a small price to pay for ensuring the secure destruction of confidential papers. Apart from the initial purchase, little thought tends to be given to the total working costs of shredders.

Whilst some office shredders are sold as ‘industrial shredders’, they can only cope with a few sheets of paper per pass and staff spend hours breaking down files and removing staples. In the end staff are often unwilling to use them and show delight when they are jammed or out of service! That is when sensitive papers start to accumulate around your work place posing a security risk. In addition to this, they begin to take up valuable space and time.

As a professional shredding firm, Topwood can supply lockable confidenital waste bins containers called consoles, so you can efficiently dispose of confidential paperwork safely in the knowledge that they will be destroyed.

Using office shredders can be risky.

Office shredders do not make commercial sense and could actually put your business at risk…why?

Office shredders are:

• Slow
• Easy to jam
• Unable to cope with files or folders
• Health and safety headache
• Maintenance needy
• Out of action when full
• Fragments possible to reconstruct

The risks to your business when using office shredders:

• Valuable staff time spent shredding paperwork is not generating you revenue
• Delegation to juniors is risky
• Slow or out-of-service shredders actually deter employees from destroying documents
• The true cost of shredding is estimated at £1.55 per kg when all the costs are totalled
• The worst threat to your business, staff or customers is a data security breach
• Documents are left unsecure around the workplace when shredders jam, are full, or staff have no time to shred

We will save you money and protect your business in 3 steps:

1. 1) Simply place documents into our secure locked consoles conveniently sited in your office
   • Unwanted files can be instantly and safely deposited
   • No need to remove staples or strip files
   • The consoles are 100% maintenance free
2. 2) On the scheduled shred day our trained and security vetted staff empty the consoles
   • Flexibility ensures consoles are available for use
   • You remove the risk of staff manual handling injuries
   • Cross cut shredding ensures total destruction
3. 3) The contents are shredded onsite in a shred truck while you watch
   • A regular shredding service lowers total costs £0.25/kg
   • All shredded paper is taken away for recycling
   • You can download a Certificate of Destruction

Industrial Shredder Cost Comparison

Office Shredder VS Industrial Shredding Service

Office Shredder:

1 Sheet = 5 seconds 1 box = 1 hour

= £15 per box

Plus the cost of data breach risks

Topwood’s Industrial Shredder: 1 Box = 18 seconds 100 Boxes = 1 hr

£3.75 per box

Office Shredder Vs Industrial Shredding Service

We have compared the time it takes to shred paper using an office shredder, and our high security industrial confidential shredder.

For the same amount of time it takes to shred one piece of paper in an office shredder, you could shred an archive box or a sack of paper in our industrial confidential shredder.

“On site wow better than the home shredder 3 pages and then shut down for a week”

– Customer on Deeside Industrial Park

Using a professional confidential shredding company, like Topwood, you can save your employees time, and your company valuable resources. Reduce risk of security breaches and use a Local Leading Independent Shredding Firm.

By working with local authorities and charities Topwood provides a free shredding service for destruction of personal papers at local events. Members of public are encouraged to bring sensitive documents such as medical records, tax forms, banks statements and utility bills. Read on to find out more.

Community Shred Events

Shredding documents is one of the simplest ways to stop identity fraud. Bank statements, medical forms, old passports, pay slips and utility bills may all end up in a pile in the domestic waste bin. These documents hold your personal identity information. If confidential information is left in a publicly accessible place, like a domestic waste bin, there is a high possibility that your identity may be used without your knowledge.

We attend fairs, village shows, community Police events, and business fairs to provide a free community shredding service. We set up our industrial mobile shred truck for the general public to shred a few bags of confidential paper for free. There is no charge but any donations will support the nominated charities.

Members of the public are encouraged to bring sensitive documents to our shred truck where they are tipped into the industrial shredder to be cross cutwhile they watch. At the end of the day, the truck takes the shredded fragments away for recycling.

Our shred events are a convenient way to safely dispose of your sensitive information for free!

Our free shredding service promotes:

• Awareness of ID Theft and Fraud
• Active prevention
• Aids the Police Service (Promotes awareness of risks and provides free shredding service to reduce risks)
• Aids the Fire Service (Less stored paper in houses)

Yes – customers often request we shred files directly out of archive boxes (or other containers) as this saves them the effort of transferring everything into sacks. If you wish to re-use the boxes we can return them empty once the contents have been securely shredded. Read on to find out more.

When carrying out a shredding service where the customer has archive boxes there are two choices:

1) Shred the entire box and the contents

2) Empty the box into the shredder and keep the box to return to the customer

It may be cheaper to re-use boxes. However, if you have personal information written on the outside of boxes, we would recommend shredding the boxes.

Our storage service simply uses barcodes on the exterior of boxes to ensure all personal data is secure.

If you choose to keep your box remember:

Pieces of paper could get stuck to the sides of the box, and if that box is re-used and the paper is read, a security breach may occur.

Archive boxes that have been used multiple times will get weaker and weaker. Consider using strong Topwood archive boxes.

Remove any details on the exterior of the box that could be considered personal information

We supply two types of shred sack, polyprop and paper, for the safe collection of confidential paperwork. However, using our sacks is not a requirement. If your documents are already in archive boxes or other containers/sacks we can shred the documents out of those containers (and return them to you for re-use if required). Read on to find out more.

We supply either poly prop sacks, or paper sacks (to compare the two types click here). Simply fill our sacks to collect sensitive paperwork from your workplace and then seal closed once they are full.

Poly prop bags:

These heavy duty woven plastic bags that are very strong. Simply fill them up and seal with a tamper-proof security tag. These tags are logged into the system. When the sacks are taken to the lorry to be shredded for on-site shredding our security vetted staff remove the tag, and empty the contents of the bag into the shredder.

Each tag has a unique barcode providing a full traceability

The tags can be used for complete traceability. For example our drivers scan the tags at the point of collection for shredding and then the seal numbers are shown on the Certificate of Destruction.

Paper bags:

High quality paper sacks can be considered to be more secure than the poly prop sacks. You fill the sacks, peel and seal the top closed, and when the sacks are taken to the lorry, the whole sack is dropped straight into the shredder. Once you dispose of the documents into the bag, it doesn’t need to be opened at all, this reduces the time spent on-site making sure we take up parking spaces for as little time as possible.

We recycle all the paper we collect. There are cases where we collect paper that has already been shredded. The paper is graded at our facility and then compressed into mill sized bales so it can be delivered to the papermills for pulping into useable products.

As a professional document destruction company we are licenced waste carriers that collect and shred tonnes of paper every day. Our chain of custody controls, together with the sheer speed and volumes involved, make it impossible to reconstruct the documents we shred – see How secure is shredding paper.

The risk of data controllers (office manager) disposing of their own shredded paper is that if it is insufficiently destroyed – for example, if it is strip cut and not cross cut, details on the documents may subsequently be recovered, leaving the data controller liable. In reality, reconstruction is unlikely but possible.

If you dispose of documents you have shredded yourself at a waste recycling centre you are not required to have a waste carriers licence.

Shredded paper handled by a professional shredding and recycling company such as Topwood can never be reconstructed. This contrasts with disposing of paper at a general recycling facility that has public access and employs unvetted staff which makes reconstruction a possibility.

There are two main options available when you come to dispose of your confidential papers; on-site shredding and off-site shredding. On-site shredding involves a shred truck coming to your premises and shredding your material in a mobile shred truck “on-site”. Off-site shredding involves a GPS tracked van collecting your material and transporting it back to Topwood to be shredded “off-site”. Read on to find out more about the process.

Contents
1. What is on-site shredding?
2. What is off-site shredding?
3. Benefits of on-site shredding

What is on-site shredding?

On-site shredding is when a shred truck destroys documents or media at your workplace. This offers the shortest chain of custody and by definition is the safest. When the truck leaves your offices there is no way your information can be accessed either maliciously or accidentally. On-site shredding is most beneficial when you have a bulk clearance, as loose documents are put straight into a wheelie bin and emptied directly into the shredder. See below for the chain of events.

The chain of events for an on-site shredding service:

1. The high security shred truck arrives at your workplace at an agreed date and time.

2. Our security vetted shred truck operative collects all your documents or media to be shredded and takes them directly to the lorry, with supervision from your staff member

3.Our operative weighs the amount for shredding, then places the paper or data into the shredder, again with staff supervision.

4.The shredded documents are collected at the back of the lorry and mixed with other pieces of confidential documents and are taken to the recycling plant at the end of each day.

What is off-site shredding?

Off-site shredding is an alternative option for customers that have a smaller quantity of shredding or whose premises are on our regular routes. This option is popular and more cost efficient for organisaions whose premises are in city centres and opt for a regular shredding services.

The chain of events for a regular off-site shredding service:

1. As a Topwood customer you would have Topwood shredding receptacles in your offices to keep your confidential documents away from prying eyes (sacks, consoles or wheelie bins). These are all provided FREE on loan – we only charge for the shredding we do.

2. You will have a schedule set up for a weekly, 2-weekly, 4-weekly, 8-weekly or ad hoc service for Topwood to arrive at your premises and collect your shredding.

3. All shredding receptacles are sealed with a security tag and transported back to Topwood in a GPS tracked van to be shredded off-site.

4. The shred sack with be opened and loaded directly into the shredder within 24hrs of collection and shredded to standard EN15713.

5. The shredded paper will be taken to the recycling plant at the end of each day and you will receive a certificate of destruction.

Benefits of on-site shredding

While off-site shredding is still secure and may be the most convenient for some companies, we will always recommend on-site shredding as it involves the shortest chain of custody, and is therefore the most secure and reduced the chance of a security breach.

On-site shredding gives you peace of mind as you can watch your confidential documents go directly into the shredder and into the back of the locked shred truck. At the same time our shred truck have the capability to shred hard drive, CD’s and disks on-site in a separate shredder too.

We are one of the only companies in the North West with ISO:27001 accreditation. Data controllers must make every effort to ensure the data processors are compliant; this award guarantees that we comply with the highest standards. Compliance is important for your company too: the Data Protection Act requires the destruction of all sensitive data to a sufficient level that it cannot be reconstructed.