Why do we use shredders?

There are many reasons why people invest in shredders. Some need to free up space or get rid of sensitive data. There are also numerous shredders for different purposes.

In today’s blog we look at the different uses of shredders.

Disposing of documents with personal information is regulated and South African legislation is in place. The POPIA act regulates the protection of personal information and is one of the main reasons we have to get rid of certain documents in the workplace.

Today many in corporate positions across the world are trying to go paperless to aid the environment and improve efficiency in the office. It is expensive to manufacture, print, and store paper. It is environmentally degrading because of the manufacturing process. Not to mention that trees take up huge areas of land that could otherwise be used for agriculture or still be natural habitats. In the future, a truly paperless environment is attainable, but at the moment, paper still has its place and it most likely will for a long time to come. Paper filing systems are very evident and are one of the main ways of keeping records and archives at schools, medical practices and various other industries. Paper takes up office space that could be utilised otherwise.

Now after the information is no longer needed you need to dispose of it in such a manner that the information can no longer be retrieved. The most thorough way to “delete” a paper would be to burn it, but that might not be in line with office protocol.  Your office won’t likely allow you to dump a burning file into a dustbin four times a week. The second-best way to dispose of paper is using a shredder.

Paper shredders cut paper up into strips or pieces of paper to ensure it can’t be puzzled together again. this allows you to dispose of paper in accordance with the requirements of the POPI act.

All over the world, there are various professions that are forced to keep client or patient files for long periods of time. For example, a school has to keep a file for every learner for some years after the learner already finished and left school. Or medical practices that have to keep your file up to 10 years after the last visit. This can result in a rather large amount of paper files that are gathered each year, and if you can’t dispose of them you’ll run out of storage space quite easily.

Some shredder users only need to shred a single file a week and others have to shred loads of files on an annual basis. This is why there are various paper shredder machine sizes available on the market.

Of course, not everyone can afford a shredder. Some may not need to use it more than once a year or might simply not have the space to store it. If any of these cases, you’ll be happy to learn that there are companies like DigiShred that can do it for you. Digi-Shred offers on or offsite shredding services and shredder rentals. This is an affordable and practical solution for many small and large businesses throughout South Africa. To learn more about our paper shredder rentals or SME Financing options, get in touch with a DigiShred consultant today.