On-site and off-site Shredding, What’s the Difference?

When considering partnering with a document destruction company for your shredding needs, you may find a variety of services they offer. Common terms you will hear are On-site Shredding and Off-site Shredding. You may be wondering what the differences between these two services are. In this article, we will discuss the difference between On-site Shredding and Off-site Shredding so you can determine what’s best based on your needs.

On-site Shredding Services

Also known as Mobile, or Curbside Service, On-site Shredding is a premium service with many benefits. In simple terms, the mobile truck, equipped with an on-board shredder, arrives at your location to perform the shredding service at your site. Some trucks, like our mobile fleet at BWS, are also equipped with a hard drive shredder. Having the mobile truck shredding documents or hard drives at your site allows you the option to watch the shredding as it happens. This is the best service option when witnessed destruction is required and the contents of your items for shredding are all paper, hard drives, or mixed media, such as CD’s, USB’s, etc.

After the truck arrives, the service technician wheels carts into your facility where the documents, hard drives, or other mixed media are located. The service technician will empty your files directly into the carts for easy transport back to the truck. Your documents can be stored in boxes, file cabinets, containers, and more. Keep in mind, during on-site service, any boxes or containers that the documents are stored in are generally returned to the customer. Mobile shred trucks often do not have storage capacity on their truck for boxes or containers. It’s the customer’s responsibility to keep or recycle these items.

Once the carts are transported back to the shred truck, the technician operates equipment that lifts the cart into a hopper where the contents are emptied into the truck, then the shredding occurs. At BWS, our mobile shred trucks are also equipped with onboard cameras so the technician can closely watch the process and the ability for the customer to watch as well.

After the shredding service is complete, the document destruction company provides you a Certificate of Destruction. This document serves as proof that you took the proper steps to securely destroy all confidential information. It’s best to keep this document on file in case of any audits.

Off-site Shredding Services

Off-site shredding services are also known as Plant Service or Pick-up Service. This option can be more economical when witnessed destruction is not required. While on-site shred trucks can typically only accept paper items, hard drives, or mixed media, off-site or pick-up service offers more flexibility when it comes to various items you need shredded. For example, x-rays. X-rays contain mercury and most reliable document destruction companies recycle all materials. However, in order to recycle the various materials from a variety of shredding jobs, the materials generally need to be separated which is why most mobile shredding services cannot accept x-rays mixed in. Utilizing the off-site service may allow you to leave your boxes of documents or mixed materials as is for the plant to perform the separating of materials. It is always best to communicate early about any various materials you need shredded. Off-site pick up service may also allow you to get rid of any unwanted boxes you’ve been storing the documents in. At BWS, we recycle the boxes as well!

Off-site service is performed just as secure as mobile, on-site shredding. The service technicians and plant staff all follow stringent procedures to safeguard the transporting and handling of sensitive documents through the entire destruction process. After your documents or materials have been shredded, you’ll receive a Certificate of Destruction.

On-site and Off-site Shredding Services Near Me

At Biomedical Waste Services, Inc. (BWS), we have over 45 years experience safely collecting, transporting, and disposing of records, documents, hard drives, and more, containing confidential and personal identifiable information generated by a variety of clients in the mid-Atlantic area, including Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., Delaware, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Our service options include on-site and off-site shredding. Our specialized customer care team will work with you on the best option that fits your needs and your budget. Call or contact us today to partner with a local and reliable, professional document and data destruction management company.

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