We advise that retention dates are applied to all documents stored at Topwood. These dates generate reports so we can notify you which documents are approaching the end of their retention period. Once you approve their destruction we take the documents from storage and securely shred them. This routine process is not only good business practice but keeps you on the right side of data protection legislation. Read on to find out more.

When storing documents, there is a minimum retention period you must abide by according to the Data Protection Act. As part of our storage services at Topwood we manage the secure destruction of documents that have reached this date. If documents are to be kept indefinitely, or you wish to retain them permanently, we advise applying DND (Do Not Destroy) instead of a date.

Using secure online access allows files to be approved for destruction.

Our software generates an exception report hi-lighting which items are approaching their review date. We notify our customers accordingly and await their authorisation to proceed with the destruction. Customers who use our online system, RSWeb, can approve file destruction online.

Following the confirmation that documents are to be destroyed they are taken from storage and transferred to our onsite facility where they will be shredded and baled for recycling. A Certificate of Destruction is generated which provides the customer with a complete inventory of the items destroyed.

Topwood offer secure uniform destruction, either onsite of offsite, to protect your brand security. Our high-security shred truck will destroy all traces of brand identity, ensuring that clothing and accompanying staff items cannot be re-used. Read on to find out more.

It is important that all out of date and damaged uniforms and clothing are destroyed and shredded securely to avoid damage to your business reputation by false impersonation.

Branded Uniforms and Corporate work-wear may include:

• Shirts
• T-shirts
• Trousers
• Jumpers
• Coats
• Hats
• Epaulettes

Other Uniform items include:

• ID Badges
• Key Cards
• Personal parking permits

Watch our video below to see how we shred uniforms securely:

Our industrial shredders can destroy lever arch files, ringbinders and box files. Shredding these files does contaminate the shredded paper and this limits how the paper can be recycled. To maintain our recycling record we request that customers advise in advance if the contamination rate is likely more than the 3% (by weight) tolerance.

We can shred a single lever arch file or whole boxes of files. Our industrial cross-cut shredders cut through whole files incluing the metal parts to render the files into tiny fragments.

If your files are in boxes, we can take them straight to the shredder for destruction. The whole box is dropped directly into the shredder. If your folders are on shelves or in filing cabinets, we will remove the files by dropping them into lockable wheelie bin which are taken to the shred truck. Inside the truck the lid is unlocked and a bin lifter tips the contents directly into the cutting chamber.

By shredding the lever arch files and ringbinders we save you time and money. Staff time stripping files is laborious and if someone were to spend hours removing the paperwork from the folders, it would increase costs and risks to your business.

View our quick video below

Here you can see whole lever arch files being shredded

No, you do not need to remove staples and other stationery prior to shredding one sheet at a time as this is costly, time consuming and can pose a risk of a data breach. The shredders we use for our document shredding service can shred through staples and all types of stationery. Failure to remove staples could jam your office shredders and causes burn outs. Using a professional paper shredding company like Topwood means our industrial paper shredders can tear through your confidential documents and personal information saving you the hassle of removing them. Read on to find out more.

It is likely that your files will have staples, paper clips, bulldog clips, treasury tags and other metal stationery keeping papers together.

Contents 1. Can staples go through a shredder? 2. Where can I take my documents to be shredded? 3. Can lever arch files be recycled? 4. Do paper shredding companies recycle?

Can staples go through a shredder?

Yes, our commercial cross cut shredders can cut through most things (including electronic data such as CD’s, hard drives and even laptops – see our media destruction page for more information) … so they can easily shred continuous printout paper, diaries, files and lever arch files – staples are not challenging! Paper for shredding can be destroyed and recycled even if the following are attached:

• Staples
• Envelope windows
• Bulldog clips
• Spring file clips
• Paper clips
• Metal spiral bindings (found on notepads etc)
• Plastic spiral bindings
• Plastic document wallets

Where can I take my documents to be shredded?

We can provide document shredding services on-site or off-site basis. Depending on the volume of documents you have to recycle we can cater for all confidential shredding requirements. For high volume sensitive document shredding we recommend on-site,one-off document shredding. For smaller, more frequent document destruction requirements we would recommend our regular shredding service where we would provide confidential waste bins; either consoles, wheelie bins or shred sacks and collect or shred on-site on a regular basis. We would provide you with a certificate of destruction after every visit.

Can lever arch files be recycled?

Yes, at Topwood, we can shref and recycle your lever arch files and ring binders in our industrial shredders, however we need to know in advance as not all shred trucks can handle these files and it is likely that the contamination rate is more than 3% which affects our recycling rates. Click the link to read more about shredding lever arch files.

Do paper shredding companies recycle?

Yes, at Topwood, we securely dispose of and recycle all the paper we shred. As a guide, a contamination rate of 3% or less (by weight) is acceptable. If the contamination (of staples, bindings etc.) is more than 3% there is a danger the material cannot be recycled and that may mean disposal charges will be incurred. Watch our video below showing documents for shredding, staples and paperclips going directly into the shredder.