How a Community Shred-it Event Can Help the Community and Your Business

Individuals play a critical role in protecting confidential information in and out of the workplace.

While many businesses support a culture of security to help teach secure work habits to their employees, promoting information security out in the community can also be beneficial.  

Holding a Community Shred-it event, for example, puts a spotlight on information security – and there are huge benefits for everyone involved.

A Community Shred-it event is an event held by an organization that partners with a document destruction company. On a specified day, a mobile paper shredding truck (there could be more than one depending on the size of the community and anticipated numbers) will park in an easy-to-access location such as a shopping center parking lot, and community members will bring important paper documents for secure destruction.

Here are all the benefits of a Community Shred-it event:    

• Safer community: Shredding confidential documents is still one of the best ways individuals can protect themselves from information thieves. Any document that includes personal information such as name, address, and account numbers, can be used for identify theft activities. Community shredding events are practical in real time but they will also help to inform everyone about how to protect confidential information in the future too. Keeping confidential information out of the garbage and recycling bin means dumpster divers stay empty handed. 
• Improves company reputation: Being aligned with an event that provides information destruction services is good public relations and shows your company cares about its community. A Community Shred-it event is a good news story for local media outlets, and you can also invite community members to post their own pictures on social media. Putting this type of positive spotlight on your company will also strengthen existing customer, client, and supplier relationships.
• Builds goodwill: A Community Shred-it event is often ‘free’ to residents who are invited to bring a box or two of confidential papers that need to be securely destroyed. Alternately, the event can help raise funds for a charity, and that creates goodwill, too. Community members who bring documents for secure shredding might be asked for a small donation to the charity.
• Shows commitment to information security: Partnering with a recognized and trustworthy company like Shred-it ensures that documents are handled by security-trained specialists. The company will demonstrate its secure chain of custody, and use industrial grade shredders to destroy confidential documents.  
• Shows commitment to sustainability: A Community Shred-it event is a good way to promote the importance of paper recycling. Once documents are securely shredded, Shred-it sends the confetti-sized pieces for recycling – this shows that environmental responsibility and document security can go hand-in-hand. Every ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 KWs of energy and 7,000 gallons of water.

Start Protecting Your Business 

To learn more about how Shred-it can protect your documents and hard drives, please contact us to get a free quote and security risk assessment.