FAQs

Document Destruction

• Can I trust AccuShred with my sensitive information?
• What is NAID® Certification?
• What is the difference between being NAID Certified versus being merely a NAID Member?
• Why should I use your service when I already have an office shredder?
• Why do I need to securely shred my documents? Can’t I just throw them away?
• What happens to my paper after it is destroyed?
• Why not just recycle?
• Will I receive a Certificate of Destruction?
• What if I only need shredding once, or on an annual basis?
• What happens if our container is full before the regularly scheduled service time?
• Will you provide containers for us to place material in before it is shredded?
• Do you offer residential shredding services?
• If my material is stored in hard to access locations, can you provide the necessary labor to remove the material? For example, if it is located in a basement, attic, or off-site storage facility, can you still accommodate us?
• Am I able to watch my materials being destroyed?
• What do I have to do to prepare documents for destruction?
• Do you offer mobile shredding?
• What is plant-based shredding?
• What are the advantages of Plant-Based (or Off-Site) Shredding?
• How does the Drop-Off Service work?
• Can you shred Electronic Media?
• How does Digital Data Destruction work?
• Can’t I just break the disc in half and throw it away?
• What if I just erase the hard drive. Isn’t that enough?
• Are the Hard Drives usable after they have been destroyed?
• Do I receive any “proof” my media has been destroyed?
• Do you recycle computers and other electronic equipment?
• Why is there a charge to recycle CRT Monitors & cell phones/tablets?
• Do you do free Shred Days for the community?
• What other areas do you service besides Toledo?

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Can I trust AccuShred with my sensitive information?

AccuShred is NAID Certified and is one of the most secure shredding and destruction companies in the information destruction industry, meeting or exceeding industry standards. AccuShred assures that all shreds are secure and confidential, from point of pick up to the final destruction process:

• AccuShred complies with federal privacy laws such as FACTA, HIPAA, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley, and is AAA certified by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID).
• Secure bins are delivered to your location that will remain locked until it reaches AccuShred’s secure document destruction facility in Toledo, Ohio.
• The entire shredding process is under video surveillance to ensure the most secure shred possible.
• The end product is mixed and so fine that it is impossible to put back together.

 

What is NAID® Certification?

NAID® (National Association for Information Destruction) is the international trade association for companies providing confidential information destruction services.

Certification is a voluntary program where a service provider allows a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) contracted by NAID to conduct a comprehensive audit of the service providers operation.

*The Annual Audit verified that the service provider complies with the standards for:

Employee Clearance: drug screening, employment history, criminal background

Access Control: assured security of removal, facility security, monitored alarms, video monitoring

The Destruction Process: destruction timeframe, and disposal of destroyed materials

Secure Processing: verifies compliance with the service provider’s written policies and procedures

NAID® Certified service providers are also subject to unscheduled random audits. Unannounced Audits are conducted by a trained CPP at the secure destruction facility and in the field.

There are over 20 key elements verified with each audit. Please click here for more information about AccuShred’s NAID Certified document shredding services.

 

What is the difference between being NAID Certified versus being merely a NAID Member?

NAID’s mission is to promote the information destruction industry and the standards and ethics of its member companies. NAID membership is open to any information destruction service provider, industry vendor or individual.

A service provider can be a NAID member without being certified.

The NAID Certification Program is offered on a voluntary basis to all NAID member companies providing information destruction services. Through the program, NAID members may seek certification audits for Mobile and/or Plant-based operations in paper or printed media, micro media, computer hard drive destruction and/or computer hard drive sanitization. The NAID Certification Program establishes standards for a secure destruction process including such areas as operational security, employee hiring, and screening, the destruction process, responsible disposal, and insurance.

 

Why should I use your service when I already have an office shredder?

Because it is more cost-effective! With AccuShred, there is no shredder cost, labor, maintenance, safety issues, paper dust, mess, noise, disposal bags or disposal fees. There is no need to remove staples, paper clips, rubber bands, or file folders. We also provide your office with free lockable containers to hold your documents that are awaiting destruction.

Most office-sized paper shredders take valuable time to feed and cannot accommodate sizable quantities of documents. Larger capacity document shredders involve capital investment, maintenance and service calls. Lastly, both large and compact paper shredders share the same basic problem – they will eventually break down. A new shredder will cost about the same as a year’s worth of AccuShred’s shredding services.

Notable benefits of hiring AccuShred to securely handle your paper shredding needs: enhanced security, consistent and reliable shredding practices and verified compliance with information protection regulations. In addition, our service will cost you less than shredding in-house, and more importantly, your employees can focus on their primary responsibilities – making your company PROFIT!

Please try out our Cost Calculator to determine how much money you will save by choosing AccuShred for your document shredding needs.

 

Why do I need to securely shred my documents? Can’t I just throw them away?

Only if you want to become a victim of identity theft or corporate espionage! Each year, nearly 9 million Americans are victimized by identity theft, which has resulted in over $50 billion in damages. AccuShred protects your employees and your clients by keeping their information safe, secure, and confidential.

 

What happens to my paper after it is destroyed?

All shredded paper is baled prior to shipment to a tissue pulping mill for recycling purposes. The material is made into various household tissue products, such as Kleenex, paper towels, and toilet tissue.

 

Why not just recycle?

Because recycling alone does not establish the necessary security requirements of information destruction. In case of an audit, it is crucial for companies to be able to answer certain questions, such as 1) How it was destroyed? 2) Where was it destroyed? 3) Who destroyed it? 4) When was it destroyed? 5) Legal chain of custody. 6) Fiduciary obligations.

AccuShred recycles everything possible after it is destroyed. We have relationships with mills and foundries for the recycling of plastics, metal, paper, and electronics.

 

Will I receive a Certificate of Destruction?

Yes. A Certificate of Destruction certifying the date your materials were destroyed is provided with all of our services.

AccuShred will provide you with a notarized Certificate of Destruction at the end of each shred job.

 

What if I only need shredding once, or on an annual basis?

That’s fine. Service frequency is based on your needs – whether it’s a one-time file purge or routine shredding service.

 

What happens if our container is full before the regularly scheduled service time?

Call us! Many of AccuShred’s clients are on an “on-call” basis. Just call us and we would be happy to schedule an extra pick-up. If you find that you are filling your containers before the next service date on a regular basis, we can provide you with additional containers or increased service frequency to maintain security – and simplify your life.

 

Will you provide containers for us to place material in before it is shredded?

Yes, we supply lockable storage totes at no cost for you to fill at your convenience. We will then return to destroy your material on-site or remove it to shred at our secure facility.

 

Do you offer residential shredding services?

AccuShred provides information destruction services for residential clients, in addition to our commercial customers. We can schedule a pickup at your home or storage unit, or you can bring your materials to our facility.

When you drop your materials off, you have the option of staying to watch the destruction inside our secure shredding facility.

 

If my material is stored in hard to access locations, can you provide the necessary labor to remove the material? For example, if it is located in a basement, attic, or off-site storage facility, can you still accommodate us?

AccuShred is able to supply all necessary labor and equipment to remove your material wherever you may have it located. We’re confident that regardless of where your material is stored, we will retrieve it without incident. Stair charges may apply. Please let us know in advance.

 

Am I able to watch my materials being destroyed?

Absolutely! Witnessed destruction is arranged by appointment. Please call 800-747-3341 to schedule your witnessed destruction appointment.

 

What do I have to do to prepare documents for destruction?

Nothing more than depositing them in the bins and consoles placed around your office. There is no need to remove paper clips, staples or any other type of binding.

 

Do you offer mobile shredding?

Yes. We use a Vecoplan slow-speed rotary grinder mobile shred truck, which provides the smallest, most consistent particle size on the market.

 

What is plant-based shredding?

Plant-based or “off-site” shredding involves transporting secure containers from your facility to a central shredding location. Containers are typically transported in locked vans, box trucks, or even tractor trailers depending on the volume. A large plant-based operation might be capable of shredding 5 to 15 tons of material an hour or many times the capability of an on-site truck.

 

What are the advantages of Plant-Based (or Off-Site) Shredding?

Plant-based shredding is advantageous when you have a very large volume of documents to be destroyed. Off-Site shredding is usually more cost-effective than mobile shredding.

 

How does the Drop-Off Service work?

Bring your materials for destruction to AccuShred. An AccuShred team member will come to your vehicle with a locking tote for small volumes or a pallet for large volumes. AccuShred does all the lifting while you relax! Your materials will be shredded the same day. AccuShred will issue you a Certificate of Destruction for you to place in your files.

 

Can you shred Electronic Media?

Yes, we destroy x-rays, microfilm, hard drives, disks, and other computer media. Costs may vary depending on what is being destroyed and the volume of such media.

 

How does Digital Data Destruction work?

We will pick up and securely transport your records to our facility, accurately weigh, and then destroy the material with our granulator.

 

Can’t I just break the disc in half and throw it away?

The capacity of a typical CD is approximately 370,000 pages of data. Even if you break the disc in half, 370,000 pages of data potentially exist in 2 halves. Non-contemporary methods do exist to read data from broken or shredded CD or DVD media.

 

What if I just erase the hard drive. Isn’t that enough?

Erasing your hard drive doesn’t mean your data is gone. Hard drive destruction is proven to be the only 100% secure way to destroy data from hard drives permanently. That means physically shredding the hard drive and disposing of the minute particles that remain.

 

Are the Hard Drives usable after they have been destroyed?

No, the physical destruction process is permanent and your hard drive will not be able to be used again.  The remaining small pieces, however, are recyclable. For more information check out the NAID study on PII in resold electronics. 

 

Do I receive any “proof” my media has been destroyed?

Yes. We will provide you with a notarized Certificate of Destruction, complete with individual serial numbers.

 

Do you recycle computers and other electronic equipment?

AccuShred responsibly recycles most electronic equipment, however a small fee may apply.

 

Why is there a charge to recycle CRT monitors & cell phones/tablets?

The minimal cost is to offset our cost of safely disposing of the lead contained in this equipment.

 

Do you hold Shred Days for the community?

Yes, we do! AccuShred often provides shred days to local companies and municipalities. 

 

What other areas do you service besides Toledo?

AccuShred not only provides paper shredding services in Northwest Ohio, we also provide paper shredding and computer recycling service to the following areas in Michigan: Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint, Lansing, Brighton, Troy, Rochester Hills, Farmington Hills, Novi, Howell, Adrian, Jackson, Hillsdale, Monroe… and the following areas in Ohio and Indiana: Findlay, Lima, Defiance, Sandusky, Cleveland, Perrysburg, Wauseon, Maumee, Bowling Green, Fremont and Fort Wayne.

We usually serve a 120-mile radius from Toledo, but will go further if the job requires it!

If you do not see your area listed, please call us at 1 (800) 747-3341.