Getting rid of your confidential and secure documents with peace of mind wasn’t so easy before shredding was discovered. Now, that pile of documents in your office can be gone in a matter of seconds.
Document shredding is a good practice, but only if you choose a shredding service that cares for the environment. Why? If companies don’t recycle the shredded documents, it adds to the huge amount of waste already harming the environment. You’re shredding precious paper made from the earth’s trees, which means, inevitably, more trees will be cut, contributing to global climate change.
In this article, we’ll explore why improper document disposal is problematic, and the environmental advantages of modern shredding practices now that the industry is embracing sustainability. We’ll also highlight the sustainable shredding efforts being made by companies like Pulp to make shredding an eco-friendly experience.
The Impact Of Improper Document Disposal
Simply throwing your sensitive paperwork into the rubbish or recycling bin exposes your personal and financial data to fraudsters digging for identities to steal. But even setting aside security issues, trashing documents instead of shredding them creates an environmental burden over time.
According to Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency, paper and cardboard comprise 22% of landfill contributions nationwide. As this waste accumulates and decomposes, it releases methane. It is a greenhouse gas much more potent than carbon dioxide when it comes to global warming. In fact, landfills represent over a third of Ireland’s total methane emissions.
So, by responsibly destroying and recycling your documents through secure shredding services instead of sending them to landfills, you reduce greenhouse gas pollution locally.
The Benefits Of Eco-Friendly Shredding Practices
Fortunately, the document destruction industry has come a long way over the last decade regarding adopting eco-friendly business practices. Many shredding companies now emphasise sustainability and paper recycling as core parts of their shredding processes.
As you search for secure ways to get rid of your confidential documents, look for shredding services that practise sustainable shredding and recycle paper waste after shredding.
Specially designed equipment breaks down shredded scraps into pulp and removes inks and chemicals so the raw paper fibres can be reused to make fresh paper products. This closes the sustainability loop rather than extracting more trees and resources from nature.
When you consider Ireland utilises over 2 million tonnes of paper and cardboard yearly, it’s clear why sustainable shredding makes such a massive positive environmental impact.
Every shredded document makes a tangible impact, helping preserve forests, conserve water, reduce energy consumption, and decrease greenhouse gases. While individual choices may feel small, they add up significantly across homes and businesses countrywide.
With your help, we can reduce carbon footprint of your business and keep our planet a safe place to live.
The Shredding Industry’s Sustainability Efforts
The shredding industry as a whole has made leaps and bounds recently when it comes to adopting sustainable shredding practices.
According to European industry surveys, almost 80% of professional shredding companies now recycle paper waste after shredding is complete.
Many major industry associations dedicated to secure document destruction, like EDSA (European Data Shredding Association), provide sustainability certifications to European shredding providers that adhere to strict environmental policies around recycling shredded paper, emissions reductions, and related green guidelines.
EDSA introduced its Zero Waste certification standard for shredding companies that achieve over 90% recycled content levels from the paper they destroy. Several Irish shredding firms now hold this designation, underscoring the industry’s serious commitment to environmental stewardship locally.
Between recycling thousands of tonnes of shredded paper that would otherwise land in dumps, operating shredder vans that prevent back-and-forth transport pollution, and other efforts, professional Irish shredders help remove considerable carbon emissions from the atmosphere yearly.
As climate change accelerates, expect leading local shredding providers to continue finding new ways to make their services more sustainable.
How We Do It At Pulp
At Pulp, eco-friendly shredding practices are integral to how we operate day in and day out. We take sustainability seriously. Every piece of paper that you submit to our shredder gets 100% recycled for reuse. It reduces our environmental impact over time while protecting your confidential information.
Here’s how we do sustainable shredding at Pulp:
- Onsite and Mobile Shredding – We emphasise onsite shredding at customer locations whenever possible rather than transporting documents to centralised shredding facilities. This minimises transportation emissions. Our shredder vans run efficient routes to reduce kilometres driven.
- Recycled Shredded Paper – We recycle 100% of all paper waste generated through our shredding services. Our partners utilise advanced equipment to separate inks and chemicals from fibre to make pulp for fresh paper products. With our sustainability efforts, we have been able to save over 400,011 trees in the past 17 years.
- NAID AAA Certified – Pulp is one of the six mobile shredders that have gotten AAA certification from the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID). It certifies that we understand and know the data protection laws and that our firm complies with rules to securely destroy your documents.
- Garda Vetted – All our mobile shredding staff is Garda vetted. So you know your secrets are in safe hands, getting destroyed. Additionally, our vehicles are robust and have GPS tracking, so we know nothing can go wrong.
At Pulp, we take pride in shredding and recycling well over tonnes of sensitive documents monthly, knowing we are diverting that much waste from landfills. We invite you to join us in our green journey by responsibly destroying your confidential documents through us.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, sustainable shredding services enable us all to dispose of and recycle sensitive documents sustainably rather than tossing them out to fill up landfills and pollute the local environment. By choosing a secure and eco-friendly Irish shredding service, we can protect both our private information and the environment at the same time.
So, consider making document shredding part of your regular sustainability routine. Sign up for professional shredding services to purge your backlog of old paperwork. Schedule recurring shredding at regular intervals going forward before new piles accumulate again. Together, our collective efforts create greener communities and a healthier Ireland for future generations.
Reach out now to learn more about Pulp’s secure and sustainable shredding services tailored for business document destruction needs. Let’s work together to lighten both your confidential document load and environmental footprint.
