Why buy a paper shredder?

Do you need a paper shredder? Is it really necessary to have one at home or at the office? Yes you do, and here is why.

Tip: check our list with pros and cons of shredders.

Identity theft

The most important reason to get a paper shredding machine for personal or office use is to avoid identity theft. You can never be too safe when it comes to your personal information.

To protect your business from data theft, we recommend securely destroying all confidential documents before discarding them.

Paper documents can contain information about you, such as your name, address, or even bank account details. This data can get used to steal your identity and commit identity fraud.

So before you dispose of sensitive documents with important information in the recycle bin, it is recommended to shred the documents and then recycle them. We recommend shredding every paper you want to dispose of, which contains personal information. This can also be junk mail.

Check best home shredders

Protect the privacy of others

But a shredder isn’t only used to shred your personal documents. Businesses around the world hold information from all kinds of people and other companies.

And most of the time, this sensitive information is printed on paper documents. Think about invoices, insurance documents, customer lists, etcetera.

Companies need to take care of the secure disposal of these paper documents. One way to do this is to collect sensitive documents in a shred bin and shred the documents with a professional or commercial paper shredder in the office.

But companies also like to shred secure information from projects, clients, or minutes from important meetings.

Shred all policy

Paper documents are everywhere in offices and also at home. To prevent confidential information loss, it is recommended to follow a shred all policy in your company or even at home.

This policy means that every single document will be shredded before it gets recycled. But also don’t forget to shred envelopes, junk mail, or packaging material that contains personal information, such as your name, address, or other confidential data.

Clean desk and workspace

Besides avoiding identity theft and protecting your clients’ privacy, a paper shredder also helps to keep your workspace clean and organized. By shredding paper regularly, you keep the clutter on your desk or in cabinets to a minimum.

A paper shredder helps to declutter your workspace and it helps to separate waste paper from other waste streams, this is better for the environment.

Lastly, shredding paper reduces the volume of paper waste. Shredded paper tends to take up less volume in your paper recycle container than un-shredded documents.

Shredding documents and keeping the paper shreds separate from the rest of your waste also improves recycling. So shredding your documents helps to be more environmentally friendly at home and in the office.

What can you shred at home?

As a consumer, what kind of documents can you shred at home? Think about bank-deposit slips, banking statements, credit-cards bills, insurance policies, loan documents, receipts, tax returns, and so on. Check before you shred if you don’t need the document anymore, this is especially important with tax documents.

On this website, you can find a list with documents to shred. For instance:

Monthly bills
Documents with personal information
Receipts or papers that show your signature
Employer pay stubs
Documents with account information
Documents with your Social Security number
Expired credit cards
Tax forms and related documents more than seven years old
Documents that list a password or PIN

It can be quite challenging to find the right paper shredder for you. There is a lot to choose from besides only the color, such as a black or white shredder. So it is understandable you can get overwhelmed with all these types of shredders.

Do you need a strip-cut shredder or a crosscut shredder? What kind of sheet capacity do you need? And is a run-time of 5 minutes enough for your shredding needs? Read this page with more information about the types of paper shredder.

Which paper shredder should you get?

To help you get the answers and find the best paper shredder, we’ve made an extensive but easy to follow paper shredder guide that’ll guide you through the process of finding a good shredder.

See our shredder guide