Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need to shred my documents?

Every year, millions of Americans are affected by identity theft. It is the fastest growing crime and its devastating impact is lasting and widespread. Perpetrators take advantage of an information-laden paper trail left by careless or unsuspecting individuals and businesses. By piecing together personal and financial information, they quickly drain bank accounts or run up thousands in fraudulent charges. Shredding eliminates informational leaks left in dumpsters and recycling bins, easily preventing identity theft.

Why outsource when I can do my own shredding?

EdgeTech’s onsite shredding offers enhanced security, convenience, and cost-effectiveness. Outsourcing your shredding to EdgeTech guarantees that the destruction process is done securely, quickly, and efficiently. Our onsite trucks equipped with industrial shredders can shred in minutes what would take office personnel hours to complete.

How much paper do I need to justify a shredding service?

Most small offices can generate about 5,000 sheets of paper per week. 5,000 sheets is equivalent to one box of 10 reams of copier paper. Most offices keep only a fraction of the paper generated. That’s a lot of shredding, if done by hand.

How much can you shred in an hour?

EdgeTech can shred up to 3,000 pounds in an hour. Our document shredding service saves you time, and more importantly, guarantees your information is secure.

Why not just recycle our documents? Isn't recycling the same as document destruction?

No. Many recycling companies take your information-laden documents in whole form, leaving too many opportunities for dishonest individuals to handle, view, and potentially misuse the information for identity theft. EdgeTech Document Shredding will micro-cut your documents and then securely recycle the particles.

Why choose EdgeTech?

EdgeTech offers superior service, the convenience of onsite shredding, the local touch of a regional firm, and hard-won expertise gained by experience.

When do you offer your shredding services?

EdgeTech offers either on-call or scheduled shredding—or both. On-call shredding means you call us when you are ready to shred.

Should we have our documents destroyed regularly?

Definitely. Having a set destruction schedule with EdgeTech guarantees that you are compliant with the many federal, state, and local laws regarding the safeguarding of private information. Regularly scheduled shredding prevents you from holding on to paperwork and clutter that is not essential for your business. Shredding saves your company money by freeing up valuable office space or costs associated with renting storage space.

Where do you perform the shredding?

Our onsite shredding vehicles work right at your facility, leaving no doubt that your documents are destroyed. Customers can also view the destruction of their sensitive materials as it is taking place. All of our vehicles come equipped with multiple cameras so that you can see the entire process from start to finish.

Do you require your employees to be bonded?

All of EdgeTech's employees are licensed, bonded and insured Security Information Specialists. In addition, EdgeTech carries the important Errors and Omissions insurance. This level of insurance is a superlative level of coverage that very few companies carry, but is an indication of how seriously we take our customer's information.

Do you require your employees to undergo drug testing or background checks?

Yes. All employees are drug-screened several times per year on a random basis. In addition, all employees undergo an intensive legal and financial background check. Only then will they be hired. Once hired, employees undergo a 10-hour training session on the secure operation of our vehicles and in the safe handling of all materials. Only after they have successfully completed the training will they be considered Security Information Specialists.

What should be shredded?

What other type of material do you destroy in addition to paper?

EdgeTech's fleet of secure shredding vehicles can shred digital media such as tapes, CD's and DVD's, X-rays and microfiche. The destruction of these materials takes place separately from paper shredding.

What can go into the shredder? Should we remove paper clips, fasteners, staples, or binders?

There is no need to remove paper clips, staples fasteners or binder clips. Our trucks have the capacity to shred all of these items.

What do I have to do to prepare documents for destruction?

Gather all of your confidential material for destruction. Remove all plastics and/or X-rays. Call EdgeTech to schedule your destruction service. That’s it.

Do your personnel physically touch our material?

Never. Once you place your material in our locked containers, our bonded security specialists transfer the material into a larger secure bin that goes directly into the shredding vehicle. The vehicle then destroys all of your confidential material rendering it unrecognizable and unreadable.

How secure are your containers?

Extremely secure. All of our durable consoles are slotted and outfitted with secure locks. The contents are only accessible by our security information specialists upon arrival for onsite shredding. The container’s slots are designed so that once the paper has been placed within, it is not retrievable.

What proof do I have that my information is secure? Do you offer a certificate of document destruction?

At EdgeTech, we guarantee that you’ll receive a Certificate of Destruction before our secure vehicle leaves your location. We invite you to witness the secure process. And we will submit to any audit of our onsite vehicles and the shredding process.

Can I witness the destruction of my information?

All of our shredding vehicles are outfitted with built-in cameras that allow you to view the destruction as it is taking place. A rear camera also allows you to see the material in its shredded state once the shredding process is complete.

What happens to the documents after they are destroyed?

EdgeTech Document Shredding is committed to a 100% paper recycling policy. Once we have completely shredded your material, we deliver the shreds to one of our recycler’s centers who then put the paper through an additional screening and baling process. Once the paper has been further cleaned, it is pulped down and reused as recycled paper products. This process keeps our landfills from being overused and our environment from being further compromised.

How do you support your customers?

Beyond our superior everyday customer service, EdgeTech offers several consulting services to support our customers and communities. We provide document environment assessments to evaluate your current systems of handling personal information. We offer employee training to educate your employees on current laws (and penalties), proper document handling, and the value of collected information. And, we conduct identity theft presentations to speak to your group about cause and prevention of identity theft. For more information on these services, visit our Document Protection Consulting page.

What are your payment and billing options?

EdgeTech accepts check, cash or Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.