How a Community Shred-it^® Event Can Benefit the Community and Help Protect Your Business

Fraud is a frequent and ongoing threat to both businesses and consumers. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), there were over 1.2 million reports of fraud received through the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov website in 2023. Securely shredding documents that contain confidential and personal information is still one of the best ways businesses and individuals can help protect data from information thieves.

While many businesses support a culture of information security to help teach their employees about data protection, promoting information security in the community can also be beneficial. Hosting a Community Shred-it^® event spotlights physical data security, which can positively impact everyone involved.

What is a Community Shred-it^® Event?

Community Shred-it^® events raise awareness about identity theft and fraud by reminding community members about the importance of securely disposing of documents, which contain personal information. Shred-it^®, a Stericycle solution, partners with organizations across North America to host local shredding events where anyone can bring their paper items for destruction. Some of our events also partner with local charities and collect donations for a worthy cause.

On a specified day, a mobile shredding truck (or trucks depending on the size of the community and anticipated number of participants) will park in an easy-to-access location, such as a shopping center parking lot, and community members will bring confidential and personal documents for destruction. Documents can include old tax documents, junk mail, photos, unnecessary receipts, old bills, and more.

How Your Company Benefits from a Community Shred-it^® Event    

• Helps improve company reputation: Aligning with an event that provides document shredding services is good public relations and shows that your company cares about its community. A Community Shred-it^® event can be a good news story for local media outlets, and you can also invite community members to post their pictures on social media. Putting this positive spotlight on your company can also strengthen customer, client, and supplier relationships.
• Builds goodwill: A Community Shred-it^® event is often free of cost to residents who are invited to bring a box or two of confidential papers. A shredding event can also help raise funds for a charity. Community members who bring documents for shredding might be asked for a small donation, for instance.
• The most effective form of physical data destruction: Professional shredding services, like Shred-it^®, use cross-cut shredding equipment, which destroys paper to confetti-like pieces that are impossible to put back together. Industrial shredders are much more effective when compared to do-it-yourself shredders, which often create long strips of paper that someone can piece back together.
• Shows commitment to sustainability: A Community Shred-it^® event is a way to promote the importance of paper recycling. Once documents are securely shredded, Shred-it^® sends the paper to companies that recycle it into new products. This shows that environmental responsibility and document security can go hand-in-hand. Recycling one ton of office paper can yield remarkable benefits. It saves approximately 17 mature trees and conserves energy equivalent to consuming 322 gallons of gasoline, as estimated by the EPA.

How the Community Benefits from a Community Shred-it^® Event

• Data breaches are top of mind: Identity theft is one of the biggest concerns in and out of the workplace. According to the FTC, fraud cost U.S. consumers over $10 billion in 2023.
• “We’re not digital yet”:  Statistics show that the average office worker still uses over 10,000 pieces of copy paper a year. In fact, every business – and home – ends up with confidential information on paper ranging from addresses on envelopes and credit card statements to various documents containing business and financial information.
• Security is critical: At a community shredding event, a secure chain of custody should be evident with security trained experts and secure destruction. In the workplace, an experienced vender will provide locked consoles for the collection and storage of documents that need to be destroyed.
• Prioritize compliance: Privacy laws require timely document disposal, and there are fines for non-compliance. A Proof of Service Certificate is provided after every material pick-up to acknowledge that your documents have been collected for secure destruction.
• Avoid the trash or recycling bin: Research has shown that the average American receives about 41 pounds of junk mail every year. Much of this junk mail contains personal information and often ends up in the trash. Dumpster-divers go through trash for this kind of information. To help prevent identity theft, documents, including junk mail, should be securely destroyed.

How to Host a Community Shred-it^® Event

If you would like to host a Community Shred-it^® event, contact a Shred-it^® Sales Representative at 866-984-0938. Shred-it^® wants each event to be successful and is happy to support host companies with resources and marketing materials.

Start Protecting Your Business 

Contact us today to learn more about how Shred-it^® can help you protect your business from fraud with our secure document and hard drive destruction services.