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PAPER
RECYCLING CONFERENCE: Torn to Shreds 6/29/2005
Protecting and destroying the information entrusted to them comes
first while the market value of shredded paper comes second, a
panel of speakers from the confidential shredding industry told
attendees of the Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show.
Nick Wildrick, co-founder of Shred First LLC, Spartanburg, S.C.,
urged those entering the field to think first of the value of
the shredding service being offered, and not of the tons of paper
that can be recovered. “Everything we sell is about security,”
he remarked.
Wildrick presented a business model based on a “per container”
charge that may seem low-yielding taken alone (both in dollars
and in pounds of paper), but when multiplied by 1,000 bins presents
a scenario for $900,000 in revenue before the value of the shredded
scrap paper is even considered.
Chris Ockenfels, manager of the Document Destruction and Recycling
Services (DDRS) subsidiary of City Carton Co., Iowa City, Iowa,
also noted that the commodity-based model of the recycling industry
does not always align with the service and security-based model
of the document destruction industry.
Confidential shredders have the additional responsibilities of
facility security, employee background checking and chain of custody
agreements for the documents they handle, Ockenfels noted.
Increasingly, shredding firms have to meet shredding particle
size specifications that may even negatively affect the value
of their scrap paper product. For security reasons they must often
shred entire files—folders, paper clips and plastic report
covers included—which can also negatively impact the value
of their scrap paper.
As far as complaints from paper mills because of these practices
and the potential downgrading of such material, Wildrick said
flatly, “I don’t care.” He noted that the first
duty of a shredding firm is the protection and destruction of
the information.
Robert Johnson, executive director of the National Association
for Information Destruction (NAID), Phoenix, Ariz., urged recyclers
who also offer shredding services to consider using NAID as a
resource to help ensure that they follow best industry practices
and stay in touch with key legislative issues affecting document
destruction firms.
The Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show took place in
downtown Atlanta from June 26 to 29.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Source: Recycling Today, http://www.recyclingtoday.com/news/news.asp?ID=7962
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