If I Take My Documents to be Shredded, How Do I Know They Are Actually Destroyed?

Certified document destruction companies have standards and procedures in place that must be followed in order to be certified by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID).

One of those policies is to provide each customer with a certificate of destruction to all customers who have sensitive information destroyed. 

Are Spiral-Bound Notebooks Acceptable In With My Shredding?

According to Cambridge.org, a spiral notebook is “a book of paper for writing that is held together by a wire that curves around and around through small holes at the edge of the paper.

Of course, the paper and the cardboard cover are recyclable, shredable items, but the metal spiral binding is questionable in both respects.

Can I Put Plastic Binders In With My Shredding?

Plastic spiral binding, also called comb binding, “is one of many ways to bind pages together into a book. This method uses round plastic spines with 19 rings (for US Letter size) or 21 rings (for A4 size) and a hole puncher that makes rectangular holes. Comb binding is sometimes referred to as plastic comb binding or spiral comb binding.”

Since these binders are made of plastic, some recycling centers will accept them in their recycling bins. Shredding them may be a bit of a different story.

Can I put Hanging File Folders In With My Material To Be Shredded?

The hanging folder has metal hooks on all four corners that slide over a rail. Hanging folders can be used to file one or more manila folders or can be used to put loose sheets directly into the hanging folders, themselves.

When documents need to be retrieved, the corresponding manila folder or paper is removed from the hanging folder, leaving hanging folder, itself, in its place on the rails.