Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Size Matters...Particle Size, That Is!

Well, in our economy, it's particle size to be specific. To quote a line from the 1889 read of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain; he writes, "She was wise, subtle and knew more than one way to skin a cat."

That is, more than one way to get the job done!

I will admit that there is indeed more than one way to destroy a document. Yes, you can bury it in a plastic bag in your backyard, let Mother Nature do her thing and hope it's never unearthed to become fodder for the next identity thief. 

Yes, you can dispose of it in your trash because you are certain that your trash ends up in the landfill, right? That could be true, but can't you catch a glimpse in your mind's eye of what a "dumpster diver" looks like? Yes, you can burn your documents!! Now, there's an environmentally friendly way to take care of business, but it can be cheap and thorough, right?

Think about this as reported to us last year from Lt. Cindy Kilgore and Michiana Area Crimestoppers. She writes, "A study released in 2010 from Javelin Strategy and Research indicated that 11.1 million people were victims of identity theft in 2009 to the tune of $54 billion in fraud. Victims spent hours and hundreds of dollars trying to resolve their crime." This crime does not always happen to somebody else. It can happen to any of us. In a later blog I will write about what the law has to say regarding how business must handle personal information they have in their possession.

Why is all of this important? Well, it's a reminder to each of us that when it comes to the proper way to destroy a document, size matters! When you see the next Integra truck roll by, take a note of the AAA certification logo. This top level NAID endorsement is not only highly regarded, but it must be earned and requires diligent effort to maintain. And, to keep this rating, our destruction process and audit methodology must prove that our shredded particle size meets or exceeds the certification specifications produced by the commercial grade destruction equipment we use in our trucks and at our plant.

And we do!

So, no matter how you skin it, or should I say, destroy it by continuous shred, cross cut, pierce & tear, pulverize, disintegrate or hammermill methods, size matters to us!

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