As well as being fundamental for information compliance, a thriving shredding industry is a fundamental cog in the UK recycling industry’s machinery. When it comes to information destruction, it’s important to think both about how best to handle confidential information when it’s no longer required and where it will end up once destruction has taken place.

One of they key requirements of the BS EN 15713 standard relates to end product disposal. Businesses should recycle all recyclable materials where practicable, and where recycling isn’t possible, companies should consider the environmental impacts, costs, and convenience of using other waste disposal methods. Information destruction specialists that comply with BS EN 15713 should therefore be able to answer any questions you have about the recycling of your confidential materials.

Paper document destruction

If you manage information destruction at your organisation, your primary consideration will likely be compliance with data protection regulations. A secondary area of consideration, however, should be the environment. This is where sourcing reputable and environmentally conscious suppliers of confidential document destruction services becomes fundamental.

A YouGov survey commissioned by the BSIA found that 97% of B2B decision makers in large businesses, 92% in medium businesses, 81% in small businesses and 70% in microbusinesses had dedicated bins in their workplace for paperwork – be those separate bins for non-confidential recycling and confidential paper, or one bin for both. This demonstrates that businesses are concerned about the end destination of their confidential waste and realise the importance of ensuring paper is recycled, whether it is confidential or not.

Shredding is often the most eco-friendly choice for commercial paperwork and reputable suppliers will almost always commit to recycling all of the paper they shred. The primary environmental benefit is reducing the number of trees that have to be deforested for the paper industry. If no paper is recycled, more trees would have to be cut down to keep up with demand. If all paper is recycled, however, far fewer trees will need to be used. By shredding and recycling, your organisation can help to reduce global warming, preserve habitats, and create less waste.

Paper document destruction and recycling is a much better choice than burning, which can release harmful pollutants into the atmosphere, create unnecessary carbon emissions, and remove the possibility for the paper to be recycled, meaning more trees would have to be deforested for the paper industry.

By using a dedicated, reputable supplier for your paper document destruction, you can also maximise your organisation’s recycling rates. For a general recycling collection just for your business the degree of contamination allowed will be very low. That means the painstaking task of removing all staples and plastic wallets from your documents. By using a shredding service provider, you will be outsourcing your recycling to a company which likely shreds and recycles a huge volume of paperwork every day, perhaps even hundreds of tonnes. When such a huge volume is being recycled, a few staples and plastic wallets here or there isn’t an issue. Many environmentally conscious and certified information destruction suppliers will be able to accommodate some degree of contamination and will be able to separate these items during the recycling process. However, it is best to check with your service providers if you are unsure.

Electronic Data Destruction

As with any item that could contain confidential or personal information, waste electricals and digital storage devices like hard drives and mobile phones should also be destroyed responsibly to ensure that electronic waste and precious resources are salvaged. It is sometimes inevitable to physically destroy electronic data. With software readily available to restore information previously erased from devices, and no re-use possibilities after degaussing, destruction can be the best option when it comes to the secure disposal of electronically stored data. 

Devices like hard drives and mobile phones are comprised of elements that are precious, expensive to mine, and potentially even dangerous to dispose of in general waste. For example, a mobile phone could contain gold, platinum and copper, which ideally should be recycled. However, it could also contain elements like mercury or lead, which would post a risk to ecosystems if dumped into soil or somewhere it could leach into water sources. For this reason, it’s important to find an information destruction supplier that will both ensure the security of any information stored on these types of devices and utilise any resources that these devices contain, avoiding landfill.

Lifecycle Management and Energy Use

Extending the life of products and only printing whatever is necessary will help to minimise e-waste and paper waste. By implementing a data retention and destruction policy, your organisation can ensure that it is only collecting and retaining information that is absolutely vital. By reducing the amount of waste you generate and by reusing digital devices, you can help to reduce waste at the source. This, in turn, reduce the upstream and downstream emissions associated with that waste.

As part of our recent confidential destruction survey, conducted by YouGov, over half our respondents believe it is important to have a reliable and secure confidential destruction service. BSIA members take pride in following standards prescribed in BS EN 15713 and the BSIA Code of Ethics to deliver these services ensuring that information is disposed of both securely and in the correct, professional manner. Find out more about what our members do at www.bsia.co.uk/information-destruction