Central Fife Times | News | Shredding it tightens security

Sunday, 7th September, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 2nd July, 2008 12:00

Shredding it tightens security

By Jim Stark

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AN Edinburgh-based recruitment agency has taken steps to protect itself from the scourge of ID fraud and other types of information theft, by employing the services of the world’s leading data security firm based in Cowdenbeath.

Time Recruitment said that the security of its clients’ details were of paramount importance, so it enlisted the services of Shred-it (East of Scotland), based at Glenfield Industrial Estate, to safeguard the disposal of all its sensitive material.

Time Director Caroline Burns said that it was the best move her firm ever made, because not only does Shred-it’s on-site disposal service take care of all confidential waste it also makes her job much easier.

Caroline said, “We are a small, tight-knit team of seven and don’t have a lot of time to spare.

“We’d been disposing of potentially sensitive waste by ourselves, which was incredibly time consuming and inefficient, so hiring Shred-it has made a big difference to the business.

“As a small company I always thought that employing a specialist company to take care of this burden for us would involve a massive overheard.

“But when I made contact with Shred-it over in Cowdenbeath I was pleasantly surprised. They offered me a tailored service, designed especially to fit with my budget, agreeing to collect the company’s waste as and when required.”

Time Recruitment has been gradually expanding since its inception in 2000 by Caroline and husband Ian, who specialise in matching office support staff with local employers.

Throughout this growth, Caroline and Ian have been focusing more and more on environmental issues.

Caroline added, “We are keen to recycle as much as possible and through our processes are increasingly environmentally aware.

“Shred-it has helped us in this capacity too and I’m still amazed at how easy it all is.

“It’s essential that our confidential records are disposed of carefully and, at the same time, we’re eager to do our bit to limit our impact on the environment.

“Shred-it has given us a cost-effective solution to this and always with minimum hassle and excellent service.”

Shred-it East of Scotland Managing Director Henry Barge commented, “The security of confidential material is not a matter which can be taken lightly. Identity fraud is most definitely on the rise, with most recent Government estimates putting the cost of identity fraud at £1.7 billion a year

“You need only look at the recent trouble the UK Government and some of its agencies have had over the last year, to see that even large organisations and businesses can have the occasional lapse in data security, the effects of which can be devastating.

“Some firms will take your waste material away and you have to hope that it will be disposed of properly, but there is always the risk that some material may go astray. Which is why we do everything on-site, using our specially designed trucks, to close the loop and give our customers the reassurance that everything they have given us has been destroyed.

“For all companies out there, it’s not a case of whether you can afford to shred-it, it’s whether you can afford to risk the future of your business by not shredding.

“We’re also fully committed to recycling everything we shred – we shred around 2,800 tonnes of paper every year, which equates to 28,000 trees saved.”

Shred-It uses an innovative system for secure paper waste-disposal. The company installs secure smart office style waste bins at a client’s workplace, collects the waste at regular intervals, and shreds all material on-site, before moving it off site to be recycled.

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