Shredding Frequently Asked Questions

Why should my company shred documents?
You have a legal responsibility to keep sensitive customer and employee information from falling into the wrong hands. Businesses can no longer throw confidential documents away. Protect yourself and your business by shredding all confidential documents with a reputable on site mobile shredding company.

What is HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act is a federal law to prevent abuses of personal health information, including unauthorized access. Institutions that must comply with HIPAA are called Covered Entities. Covered Entities include any and all organizations or individuals who retain or collect health related information. There are also Small Covered Entities such as Doctors, Dentists, Chiropractors, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Counselors, Urgent Care Centers, Billing Centers, Physical Therapists and Collection Agencies. According to HIPAA, every Covered Entity, regardless of size, must have documented policies defining reasonable measures they have instituted to prevent unauthorized access. Destroying all discarded patient information is a very important requirement for HIPAA.

What is FACTA?
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, also known as the FACT Act, was signed into law in 2003. FACTA is a federal law designed to reduce the risk of consumer fraud and identity theft created by improper disposal of consumer information. The FACTA disposal rule applies to virtually every person and business in the United States. It requires the destruction of all consumer information before it is discarded. Potential severe penalties await violator.

What is NAID?
NAID is an international, non-profit trade association of the information destruction industry. Its members are companies and individuals involved in providing information destruction services. NAID’s mission is to educate business, industry and government of the importance of destroying discarded information and the value of contract destruction services. Since we have a paper shredder, why do we need to outsource paper shredding? Most office-size paper shredders take time to feed and cannot accommodate sizable quantities of documents. These shredders often break down. Larger capacity document shredders involve capital investment, maintenance, and service calls. Large and compact paper shredders tend to share the same basic problem. Eventually they all break.

With fewer than ten employees, does it make sense for us to outsource document shredding? Absolutely. Small organizations have limited personnel resources, and they may need to outsource paper shredding more than larger companies. SDD provides secure locked containers at your place of business and shreds your documents in our mobile shredding trucks at a time that best fits your needs. All shredding is completed before our truck leaves your parking lot.

Does it cost a lot to use a document destruction company?
Paper shredding is a non-revenue producing function that uses valuable employee hours. When you consider how much it costs for one of your employees to do the job, you’ll find outsourcing this tedious task to SDD will save you time and money.

How does SDD mobile shredding work?
Secure Document Destruction of St. Louis places locked secure containers strategically throughout your location to securely store your information between servicing. At pre-determined intervals (set by your company needs), our state-of-the-art mobile shredding truck will arrive to destroy the material placed in these containers. Bonded, uniformed SDD associates remove the locked secure containers and completely shred the contents of each container on-site before the mobile shredding truck leaves your parking lot.

What else can you destroy besides paper? When requested, our mobile shredding trucks can destroy compact discs, floppy discs, credit cards, microfilm, X-rays, photographs, videotapes, transparencies, and many other products. Call for details.

Do I have to remove paper clips and rubber bands?
No, unlike office shredders that require the removal of all metal objects, there is no need to remove rubber bands, staples, paper clips, and other light metal fasteners. Our mobile shredding trucks will shred anything designed to hold paper together. There is no wasted time sorting through stacks of paper making sure these items are removed. Just insert your confidential documents into the secure containers and we will take care of the rest. How long must I keep documents before they can be destroyed? The period of time that business records are stored should be determined by a retention schedule that takes into account the useful life of documents to the business and governing legal requirements.

Is a document shredding schedule necessary?
Document destruction should be a systematic and regular process. By destroying records according to a set schedule, a company appropriately limits risk. Based on your company’s needs, SDD will schedule a regular time—daily, weekly, monthly—to destroy your confidential documents. SDD will shred destroy your company’s documents on site and will recycle all destroyed materials.

What do I have to do to prepare documents for destruction?
Simply deposit documents in the secure containers placed at your business by SDD, and we will do the rest.

What happens to the documents after they are destroyed?
All shredded materials are securely recycled through partnerships with trusted recyclers. We believe in environmental stewardship.

Do you require your employees to be bonded?
Yes. We select individuals with only the highest level of integrity and competency within our operations, drivers, and customer service staff. All employees are bonded, uniformed, and wear SDD issued identification badges.

Do you require your employees to undergo drug testing?
Yes. We require our employees to participate in drug testing upon hire and to submit to random drug testing during the term of their employment.

How much can you shred in an hour?
Our mobile shredding trucks can shred up to 4,500 pounds of paper per hour.

Can I witness destruction of my information?
Yes. You are invited to witness the secure document destruction process via our onboard video monitor in the shredding and collection compartments of the mobile shredding truck.

Why don’t you offer off-site document destruction?
Given the risk associated with the transportation of highly confidential documents, SDD does not offer off-site document shredding. Your information will not leave your place of business or storage facility until it is completely shredded. Your documents are destroyed before our mobile shredding truck moves off your parking lot.

What customer support do you offer?
SDD is a Saint Louis shredding company committed to unparalleled customer service and satisfaction. Your trust is earned every with every service. Since we are a locally owned and operated company, you will be speaking to and working with owner/personnel within the St. Louis metropolitan area at all times. We can service your account with flexibility and address all customer communications promptly. We are large enough to handle all your shredding needs yet small enough to provide excellent individual service. We are Secure Document Destruction, a St. Louis shredding company.

Do you offer a certificate of document destruction?
SDD will issue a Certificate of Document Destruction after your documents have been completely destroyed inside our mobile shredding truck. This Certificate will include the method of destruction, description of disposed documents, dates covered, and a statement that documents were destroyed as part of the normal course of business.

What are payment and billing options?
We provide customized monthly billing. Our billing program is flexible regarding the type of information displayed on the invoices.