SIZE MATTERS.....particle size, that is!

by:  Tom Hinz

Well, in our economy, it's particle size matters 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!

Sources: Tom Hinz, Account Manager, Integra Certified Document Destruction, LLC

Lt. Cindy Kilgore, Michiana Area Crimestoppers

National Association of Information Destruction (AAA Certification Requirements)

WWW.Worldwidewords.org 

The Environmental Impact of Document Destruction

by:  Tom Hinz

Many people have asked me over the years how recycling their shredded paper impacts the environment in a positive way.  Here is why that’s such a good question---we all know that the knowledge of a securely destroyed document is one bookend of the event, responsibly conserving our nation’s natural resources is the other.  For example, when Integra Certified Document Destruction recently partnered with the Elkhart Chamber of Commerce and the Elkhart County Solid Waste Management District for the annual Clean Your Files Day, our goal for the 350 people that showed up was to provide the peace of mind that is inherent with destroying items like old files, tax records, cancelled checks and the like.   But, that’s only half of the story.

Here is the other half…..the collection of over 40,000 pounds of paper in a single day must make a difference, and it does in a very big way.   Should you wonder how 20 tons of shredded and recycled paper will directly affect the environment, let these numbers sink in:

Saved were       

336 trees
7,515 gallons of oil
59 cubic yards of landfill space
79,110 kilowatts of energy
138,442 gallons of water while preventing 1,187 pounds of pollution entering the air!!

So, remember that when you bring your files to the 2013 Clean Your Files Day and have them destroyed by a professional destruction firm such as Integra, you are not only protecting yourself from identity theft, you are being environmentally minded, which is a very good thing for all of us!

Contributed by Tom Hinz, Account Manager for Integra Certified Document Destruction and
                                Megan Kolaczyk, Environmental Utility Coordinator for the Elkhart Indiana Environmental Center