Safety
Let's start with the obvious reason: safety. When documents are tossed into a recycling bin intact, the data on that piece of paper becomes vulnerable to anyone who comes in contact with it. A quick scan of a social security number or Employer Identification Number can be all a criminal needs to wreak havoc. When your documents are shredded, the data once present on those documents becomes unusable.
Compliance
Depending on your industry, destroying documents might not only be a smart business practice, but also may be required. Industry regulations exist to ensure that private health or financial information is properly destroyed when it has fulfilled its lifecycle. Many regulatory agencies even require a Certificate of Destruction.
Customer Confidentially
File this one under ethics and customer service. Your customers trust you with very sensitive information about their identity, finances, or personal health. When you can assure your customers that their information is secure with you and will be destroyed when it's no longer relevant, you can gain more respect and potentially generate additional business from new clients via word of mouth.
Frees Up Space
A conference room or closet filled with old paper files is simply a waste of valuable real estate. Think about what you could do with that office space if you were to unload boxes and file cabinets full of out-of-date paperwork!
Reuse
When documents are shredded, it becomes much easier to prepare it for reuse. At R4, we bale and ship shredded material to be converted into new, useable products. Shredding not only makes an impact on your business, but on the environment as well.