In September’s Recycling and Waste World The Shredding Alliance discussed how closed loop paper recycling is helping organisations across the UK to reduce their environmental impact by enabling them to reuse their waste paper. However, this practice raises a key concern, as the majority of companies handle and dispose of documents that contain confidential information on a daily basis. As a result these businesses have a responsibility to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act. Daniel Hawtin, managing director of The Shredding Alliance, explains how a closed loop paper recycling service can simultaneously deliver compliance with the Data Protection Act, whilst also enhancing a company’s environmental credentials.

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Adding Security To The Recycling Loop
Closed loop paper recycling is helping organisations across the UK to reduce their environmental impact by enabling them to reuse their waste paper. However, this practice raises a key concern, as the majority of companies handle and dispose of documents that contain confidential information on a daily basis. As a result these businesses have a responsibility to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act. Daniel Hawtin, managing director of The Shredding Alliance, explains how a closed loop paper recycling service can simultaneously deliver compliance with the Data Protection Act, whilst also enhancing a company’s environmental credentials.

It is becoming increasingly common for consumers and businesses to actively seek to deal with companies that ensure all their processes are as ‘green’ as possible. Closed loop paper recycling is just one method that is being utilised by ‘green’ companies to reduce the environmental impact of their everyday practices. But as businesses strive to enhance their environmental credentials they also have a responsibility for what happens to any confidential waste paper once it leaves their premises and enters the recycling loop.

In the UK, the legislation that covers the disposal of confidential documents is the Data Protection Act, which states that there are a number of legal obligations protecting personal information about individuals. The Act specifically applies to the processing of personal data, as opposed to particular people or organisations. Therefore, in broad terms, if you use, disclose, retain or destroy information about an identifiable living individual then you must comply with the Act. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) regulates the Data Protection Act and has powers designed to ensure compliance, which include criminal prosecution, non-criminal enforcement, audit and the power to serve a monetary penalty notice of up to £500,000.

With serious consequences in place for any organisation that does not comply with the Data Protection Act, it makes sense for businesses that handle confidential information to procure the services of a secure document shredding company. Adding a secure shredding supplier to the closed loop paper recycling service is an innovative approach to office recycling and means companies can be confident that confidential waste paper is securely disposed of and recycled, reducing the amount of paper destined for landfill.

Closing the loop
Closed loop paper recycling prolongs the ‘fibre life’ of every piece of paper and as the paper recycling service provider sources, delivers, collects and recycles all office paper it is easy to implement. The continuous loop ensures the business is able to purchase the recycled paper to be used in their office. Traceability is an important aspect of the closed loop recycling process and ensures every sheet of paper is returned to the ‘fibre pool’ for recycling rather than going to landfill. Introducing a secure shredding supplier into the process not only guarantees traceability but also compliance with the Data Protection Act.

Secure disposal of confidential documents is undertaken via either on-site or off-site shredding processes. Both methods provide the customer with a certificate of destruction, which details the exact amount of paper removed and returned to the ‘fibre pool’. A piece of paper can be recycled up to seven times before the fibres become too weak to be used again, so the ‘fibre pool’ acts like a paper bank that everyone deposits into and withdraws from. The same vehicles that deliver new recycled paper back to the business also collect the confidential waste paper which creates a continuous loop.

Prior to appointing a secure shredding supplier there are several measures that need to be taken into account during the initial procurement process that can be provided as part of a standard service.

The right shredding supplier
Before a formal agreement is entered into, it is crucial to validate the supplier’s official accreditations to guarantee the security of the service. A shredding supplier should operate to ISO9001:2008 incorporating BS EN15713:2009, the European standard for the destruction of confidential information. In addition, the customer service operators who handle the confidential information collections should be uniformed, carry identification and have been vetted to BS7858, a ten year background check.

Secondly, the shredding supplier should offer a free business review that includes a full proposal of the current and proposed situation. To ensure that the shredding service remains competitive and as efficient as possible, it is recommended that regular reviews are undertaken throughout the duration of the service agreement.

In order to reduce the environmental impact of the shredding process, it is advisable to closely examine the actual delivery of the service during the procurement process. For example, a responsible supplier should be able to offer the latest mobile shredding trucks, which not only ensures fewer vehicle emissions but delivers maximum throughput to reduce the operating time on-site. Remote engine start-stop allows the operator to switch off the truck whilst further collections from around the site are undertaken. Furthermore, it is worth identifying a supplier that has off-site plants that use electric motors because these run at very low amps in comparison to traditional industrial shredders.

A reputable supplier should also be able to remove and responsibly dispose of any other waste materials, such as surplus cardboard or plastic items, from the premises. This not only reduces the number of waste management suppliers, but also the vehicle emissions from numerous collections. However, recycling waste paper remains the main method of reducing the impact the secure disposal process has on the environment. Industry best practice mandates that all baled paper should be sent to UK or European paper mills for recycling.

By appointing a shredding supplier that partners with a closed loop paper recycling service companies can be confident that the confidential waste paper is securely disposed of and recycled, which ultimately reduces the amount of paper destined for landfill.

Feeling the benefit
A wholly accountable end-to-end provision ensures that every piece of paper is recycled to the highest level as many times as possible. This significantly increases the return on environmental investment that has gone into producing the paper in the first place and diminishes the amount of paper going to landfill.

Furthermore, a closed loop paper recycling service can also realise actual cost savings. Large organisations should take advantage of buying power and seek out an integrated supplier that can offer a single source agreement for multi-sites. Committing to scheduled services further provides a stronger negotiation position too, as cost savings can be based on regular paper sales.
With more than half of the millions of reams of paper that are consumed each day still destined for landfill, a secure closed loop paper recycling service offers companies the opportunity to dispose of confidential paper responsibly while simultaneously contributing to their CSR policy and ensuring compliance with the Data Protection Act.

This month The Shredding Alliance talks to Tomorrow’s FM about the significance of an effective waste management policy when organisations are seeking to reduce their impact on the environment. An important aspect of any waste management policy is that it focuses on the waste streams that are actually generated by an organisation. For the majority of companies that will include the disposal or shredding of confidential documents in compliance with regulations such as The Data Protection Act. Daniel Hawtin, managing director of The Shredding Alliance explains how working with the right confidential document shredding partner can drive efficiencies and cost savings rather than placing extra strain on already tight budgets.
Click on this link to read more: http://content.yudu.com/A1u47e/TFMSept2011/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl= on page 46

One of The Shredding Alliance’s (TSA) members has won Document Destruction Company of the Year in the prestigious Document Manager Awards 2011 which celebrate business excellence across all industry sectors.

Printwaste Recycling & Shredding is a founding member of TSA and one the of the Midlands’ largest independent recycling, security shredding and waste management specialists, it beat major national rivals to become the first winner of this new award category by securing the highest number of votes from its customers. Printwaste managing director Don Robins and sales manager Geoff Quayle accepted the trophy from comedian Ben Norris at an awards ceremony, organised by DM (Document Manager) Magazine, in London on September 29th.

“As first-time entrants, we are absolutely delighted and very proud to have won this award against strong competition. It acknowledges our commitment to providing consistently high levels of customer service and ensuring that our tailored operations for clients, which include secure destruction of paper and multi-media items, ultimately deliver exactly what they need,” said Don.
He adds: “To be recognised in this way by DM and our customers is a tremendous honour and shows we’re obviously doing something right!”

As part TSA and one of a number of the UK’s leading independent shredding companies, Printwaste strives to deliver a unique service proposition which aims to provide improved customer experience, increased response times and better value for money to nationwide and multi-site organisations. Daniel Hawtin, managing director, TSA, comments: “When we originally formed TSA it was to bring together the UK’s best independent shredding and recycling firms to work together to compete for work with national and multi-site organisations. It gives me great pleasure that Printwaste has secured this award against competition from some of our national corporate competitors.”

Working to the highest industry standards, all TSA document handling operatives have been fully vetted to BS7858 and all service suppliers operate to ISO9001:2008 incorporating BS EN15713:2009 – the European standard for the destruction of confidential information.

At a time when every business is seeking to drive cost savings, The Shredding Alliance (TSA) is undertaking a free review of document shredding and recycling policies for nationwide and multi-site organisations. This no cost business appraisal service has been launched to seek out genuine cost reductions for large companies via their confidential document destruction policy.

Formed by a number of the UK’s leading independent document shredding and recycling companies at the end of last year, TSA is a unique service proposition that delivers improved customer experience, increased response times but most importantly better value for money. Any national or multi-site organisation can take advantage of the free business appraisal service and TSA requires very little input from the organisation other than to arrange a visit to each location.
In order to gain the most benefit from the business appraisal service, TSA reviews any existing document destruction policies that are already in place and the costs involved. A member of TSA management team will conduct a site visit to investigate the processes currently in place for the destruction of confidential information. For example, what type of secure containers are being used? Where are they located? How often are they serviced? Is this too frequent or not frequent enough?

Daniel Hawtin, managing director, TSA, comments: “There are many avenues to explore when delivering cost savings as far as document shredding and recycling is concerned and that is why we have launched the free business appraisal service. All too often service agreements with shredding suppliers are not reviewed, as they are deemed to be adequate but business operations change over time. As a result a responsible document shredding partner should continuously review the process to ensure it is flexible enough to meet the actual requirements of the business. Our service allows larger and multi-site companies to realise genuine cost savings via TSA without making an upfront commitment.
“One of the largest costs to a multi-sited organisation could be the administration involved with regional procurement of shredding and recycling services. TSA offers a single source agreement which means the service will be streamlined and undertaken by an independent regionally located firm but invoiced to the company just once a month. This simple change could save a large business significant time and resource.”

TSA will provide a written report that details the shredding and recycling service that they propose as well as the direct and indirect cost savings. At this point there is no obligation to take up the service but as Daniel Hawtin concludes: “TSA was established to streamline the procurement and management of secure document shredding and recycling contracts. I am confident that via our free business appraisal we will be able to realise genuine cost savings for every new customer, coupled with the standard of service that is synonymous with independent and local providers.”
Offering both on-site and off-site secure shredding services, on a scheduled and ad hoc basis, TSA ensures a highly flexible approach to single source agreements. Considering the importance of the environment in document shredding and recycling procurement; TSA only uses the latest mobile shredding vehicles with minimum environmental impact and off-site plants which benefit from energy efficient shredding technology. All contracts are closely managed by a single point of contact and dedicated account manager, ensuring consistency of communications at all times and only the highest service levels.

For further information on TSA and its nationwide coverage with local service approach, please visit www.theshreddingalliance.co.uk or call 0800 824 7799.

Driving efficiencies to generate cost savings is a key message resonating throughout government departments, especially post spending review. Reducing both direct and indirect costs will result in re-evaluation of operating procedures throughout central and local government. A significant part of most departments’ costs will be the shredding and disposal of confidential information. Daniel Hawtin, managing director of The Shredding Alliance explains the importance of secure document disposal, discusses how choosing the right supplier can save time and money and evaluates the methods available for disposal.

To read more visit: http://www.governmentbusiness.co.uk/features/1/3349-shredding-inefficiencies-waste-management-not-money

Welcome to the new Shredding Alliance website. The website was launched on 13th August 2010.

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