One of the most sensitive types of commercial waste to dispose of is confidential paperwork, whether that’s personally identifiable information, legal contracts, medical and financial records, or anything else that must be kept secure until it is completely destroyed.

Working with a reputable commercial waste disposal contractor like Gaskells is a good way to increase your confidence and peace of mind when disposing of important documents without first shredding them.

And in fact there are good reasons not to shred documents, which we’ll look at in more detail below.

What’s the best way to dispose of confidential documents?

Confidential documents are usually printed on recyclable paper – by their very nature, they are unlikely to contain high-gloss paper, metallic foil print or glitter, which can be found in other types of paper recycling such as wrapping paper.

Because business documents have such a high recyclability rate, it’s sensible to dispose of them in a way that ensures they can be reprocessed and made into new recycled paper, ready for use in offices up and down the country.

Gaskells collect confidential documents securely and track them throughout the process until they are completely pulped down and ready to be turned into something new, with no risk to the private information printed on each page.

Why you shouldn’t shred office paper

When you shred office paper before placing it in your recycling bin, you make it harder to recycle.

If an inappropriate material – such as a laminated page or a plastic document wallet – has found its way through the shredder, it can be almost impossible to extract the contaminant from the rest of the load.

And by cutting the paper fibres into shorter pieces, you make it harder to produce recycled paper of a high standard from the pulp that is obtained.

For all of these reasons, it’s best if you work with a business waste contractor you can trust to dispose of documents intact, rather than shredding them before putting them in the bin.

Secure paper recycling bins

You can trust Gaskells with your business paper waste, but our secure paper recycling bins make sure that your documents are kept safe while they are still on-site on your premises.

All of our recycling bins, from wheelie bins to front-end loaders, come with lockable lids so you don’t have to worry about anyone gaining access to your discarded documents.

And with our frequent business waste collections, nothing stays on-site for longer than necessary, reducing the time before your obsolete confidential documents are securely destroyed. Get in touch today for a free site audit.