Why Certified Shredding Is So Important to Businesses

Does your business use certified shredding to dispose of documents? Even in the digital age, offices generate enormous amounts of physical documents. Conservative estimates reveal that a medium-sized business may still use 10,000 pieces of paper per year.

It underlines the need for paper shredding services to ensure you are legally compliant and protected. Here are the reasons why you should be using a certified shredding provider.

Is it Necessary to Shred Documents?

Shredding documents may feel like overkill for most businesses, but this must be a part of every organization, regardless of size. Criminals can use unshredded documents to steal trade secrets, employee information, and financial data.

Even today, criminals can often steal identities and other sensitive information just by dumpster diving in search of unshredded documents. And the threat is rising. According to Experian, in 2022, there were 1.43 million consumer identity theft complaints in the U.S. alone.

But aside from the obvious financial losses and stress that can arise from crimes like identity theft, all businesses must know that secure data destruction is the law. Federal law dictates that sensitive data must be destroyed securely.

If you violate these laws, it can result in consequences ranging from millions of dollars in financial penalties to adverse media coverage and loss of customers. Secure document shredding is the only way to help ensure that information is irretrievable after it has been disposed of.

7 Reasons You Should Destroy Documents Using a Certified Shredding Business

Shredding isn’t just tearing a piece of paper into little pieces. Exposure of customer, employee, and business data can result in massive financial penalties and a loss of brand trust.

Professional certified shredding companies rely on state-of-the-art shredders to ensure the information is gone forever. Making this investment also goes a long way to proving your compliance. If you’re wondering whether using a professional document destruction company is right for you, here are 7 reasons why.

1.

Better Security

Security is the ultimate benefit of using a professional destruction company. Document destruction is there to prevent data breaches. A professional shredding company will transport your documents in a truck or bonded container with security systems. They will then dispose of your documents using cutting-edge shredders and provide a Certificate of Destruction (CoD).

Did You Know

60% of small businesses close their doors within 6 months of a data breach or cyberattack. Your physical documents are still the backdoor to your business.

2.

Legal Compliance

Countless rules and regulations exist regarding data. Some pertain to paper-based documents, while others focus on general data disposal. Compliance is crucial to avoid massive regulatory penalties and potential lawsuits. Consequences of improper security include:

  • Financial penalties
  • Day-to-day operational disruption
  • Loss of trust by your customers

In the U.S., the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) obligates all companies to protect the personal information of employees and customers. Failure to comply has massive ramifications, including brand damage, adverse media coverage, and loss of revenue.

By hiring a certified shredding provider, you can not only shred but also shred in a legally compliant manner. Your CoD following every shred also proves that you have taken your responsibilities seriously.


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3.

Potential Money Saving

In-house shredding is an option for every company. Some business owners consider handling document destruction on their own, but is this the best option? Initially, it may seem like in-house shredding pays for itself within a year or two but don’t miss out on the unforeseen costs including:

  • Initial equipment purchases.
  • Ongoing maintenance.
  • Regulatory risks.
  • Loss of productivity.
  • Lost human resources.

Opting for a certified shredding company outsources this potential headache to someone else. They can come to your place of business, collect your documents from special locked bins, and destroy them on the premises or at a dedicated facility. This frees up your budget and team for other business functions.

4.

Better Internal Efficiency

Productivity and efficiency are two primary KPIs business owners focus on when determining whether their operation is reaching its potential. Taking your employees away from regular tasks for in-house shredding will use up time that could have been better spent elsewhere. This overall loss of productivity will add up over time.


Shredding companies use equipment that’s faster and more efficient. Engaging these services ensures your company can spend more time on value-added functions and operate at peak efficiency.

5.

Environmental Responsibility

Businesses have a responsibility to reduce their carbon footprints as much as possible. According to the latest stats, 26 million tons of wastepaper are disposed of in landfills because it hasn’t been appropriately recycled. But how do certified shredding services help with this problem?

  • Save More Trees – Every piece of paper recycled contributes to saving more trees. According to the Rainforest Action Network, up to seven billion trees are cut down annually for their material.
  • Reduce Resource Consumption – Recycling alongside a professional shredding company also reduces how much energy and water is used in making paper. This is because utilizing a shredding company reduces resource consumption by 70% compared to making new paper from freshly cut trees.
  • Decrease Landfill Waste – Approximately 26% of the world’s landfill space is taken up by wastepaper that hasn’t been recycled.
  • Limit Greenhouse Gas Consumption – Paper shredding businesses have systems established for efficient recycling. This helps your business to limit its greenhouse gas emissions in multiple ways, including cutting down fewer trees, avoiding unnecessary transport, and reducing pollution from paper mills.

It Pays to Go Green

According to the National Retail Federation, 78% of consumers said they wanted to buy from brands that engage in sustainable practices.

Most professional shredding companies understand that businesses care about their carbon footprint and have formulated green initiatives. It’s also a green marketing opportunity. Showing what your shredding partner does to recycle, reuse, and repurpose is a chance to appeal to audiences concerned with green issues.

6.

Chain of Custody

The chain of custody means knowing and proving where documents and data are at every stage of their lifecycle, from creation to destruction. The chain of custody is the first thing regulators and legal professionals will look at if a data breach occurs.


Showing a paper trail is essential for demonstrating that you have complied with your data protection obligations. Whenever you work with certified shredders, you will receive a CoD, which is evidence provided by the shredding company that they have destroyed the relevant documents.

7.

Protect Your Reputation

It takes years to build your reputation and only minutes to destroy it. 94% of consumers wouldn’t buy from a business if their data was not properly protected.


With identity theft being so prevalent, who would trust a business that cannot keep its data safe? Investing in professional paper shredding is a proactive reputational measure that demonstrates your security commitments to consumers and reduces your risk. Isn’t it worth protecting your brand’s reputation for such a small price to pay?

Trust Corodata for Certified Shreds

Thinking about certified shredding services is the first step to meeting your obligations and protecting your business. With Corodata, we ensure that documents are transported, shredded, and recycled using state-of-the-art equipment and ironclad security procedures. Outsource the headache of shredding and destruction to the experts.

Safe, Secure Document Management

Corodata has provided more than 10,000 Californian businesses with records storage services. To learn more about making us a part of your retention schedule, contact Corodata. contact us