4 Information Disposal Mistakes to Avoid

Mistakes happen, but some are more costly than others. Information disposal mistakes can cause a cascade of legal and financial problems for your business. In this blog, we discuss four common information disposal mistakes to avoid.

1. Ignoring Privacy Requirements

Consumers have a legal right to have their privacy maintained by businesses that collect their information. HIPAA, FACTA, GLBA and several other privacy laws require businesses to destroy expired personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI). Ignoring the document and data disposal requirements of these regulations can lead to non-compliance fines. Know what regulations apply to your business and keep to the letter of the law.

2. Recycling Confidential Documents

Corporate recycling initiatives are important, but not foolproof. Tossing confidential documents into open or unsecured recycling collection containers increases your organization’s risk of a privacy breach. Most recycling companies do not security screen their personnel, which increases identity theft and business fraud risks.

A professional shredding service offers a sustainable and secure recycling solution. Your shredding provider’s security-screened shredding representative collects your documents and deposits them into a mobile shredding vehicle for destruction. After they destroy your documents, your shredded waste is mixed with shredded paper from other sources, baled, and sent to a paper mill for pulping and recycling. 100 percent of your shredded waste is used to produce a variety of consumer products.

3. Sending Information Off-Site for Destruction

PII and PHI should always be destroyed within a verifiable chain of custody. With an off-site shredding service, you can never be sure whether your provider destroys your documents. You cannot witness the destruction process firsthand.

Mobile on-site shredding offers a verifiable chain of custody. Your shredding provider brings security containers to your office, allowing documents and entire files to be dropped through the slot without the need to remove staples, paperclips or even folders. A security-screened shredding representative collects the documents and deposits them into a mobile shredder while you watch.

4. Partnering with an Inexperienced Shredding and Destruction Company

Vet your shredding and destruction provider before signing a service agreement with them. Not every shredding and destruction company has years of experience handling sensitive information. Confirm how long a prospective provider has served businesses in your city. Reputable shredding providers offer customer references.

Wiggins Shredding helps your business eliminate costly information destruction errors. We serve Pennsylvania and the Tri-State Area of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey as your trusted, locally-owned paper shredding and e-destruction resource!

For help shredding your documents, please call us at 610-692-TEAR (8327) or complete the form on this page.