As-Needed vs. Recurring Shredding Service: Which is Right for You?
If you want to securely dispose of your paper documents (and have them recycled), the most practical solution is to hire a shredding company (ideally one that is certified to handle sensitive information).
Shredding companies typically divide their services into two categories: a one-time, as-needed shred service (often referred to within the industry as a “purge”) or a recurring, ongoing shred service (sometimes referred to as “scheduled service”). Each service type has its pros and cons depending on your needs, and we often see customers utilizing a combination of both to manage their document retention over time.
In this article, we will break down the differences between as-needed and recurring paper shredding services to help you better understand which one is right for you.
As-Needed Shred Service (“Purge”)
How Purges Work:
Determine how much paper you have that will need shredded. The most common unit of measurement for purges is box count or file drawer quantity. If there is a large amount of loose paper, the shredding company may go off estimated “bin tips” (more on that later).
Contact a local shredding company to receive a quote. The more accurate your paper estimate is, the more accurate their quote will be. Pricing aside, shredding companies also rely on accurate paper estimates to anticipate how long a job will take to complete and schedule it accordingly.
Factors to consider during the quote process:
Shredding companies cannot shred cardboard boxes (they gum up the shredder and contaminate the recycling process), so it is usually the responsibility of the customer to dispose of them after the job is complete.
If stairs are involved and there is no elevator, it is important to disclose this information up-front as it affects how long the job will take to complete, the amount of labor involved, and consequently the price of the job.
If you have x-rays or other non-paper materials mixed into your paper, it is crucial to mention this up-front as well. Manella folders, paper clips, and bulldog clips are all okay, though some shredding companies are more picky about what they will shred.
After choosing a shredding company, coordinate a day and rough time-frame for the job that works with your schedule. Most shredding companies operate Monday through Friday, but in some cases (namely large, multi-day purge jobs) they may have availability on weekends. Due to the nature of routing—shredding companies often have numerous jobs of various sizes throughout a day—it is difficult for them to provide an exact arrival time unless you are the first stop of the day.
On the day of the purge, a Service Representative will arrive at your location and begin shredding. Usually, a Service Rep will give you a heads-up call when they are on their way. Once there, they will begin dumping your paper into large, rollable bins. These bins—in the case of on-site shredding—are then lifted into a shred truck where the paper is dumped into an industrial-grade shredder. In the case of off-site shredding (which we do not recommend), the bins are hauled off to another location and shredded at a later time.
Once the job is complete, a Service Rep will either give you a paper or digital service receipt that includes the final price and quantity of paper shredded. If you are an established business, you will have the option of paying on-site with card, check, or cash, or you can opt to be billed an invoice. If you are an individual, you will most likely be asked to pay on-site. The service receipt also acts as a Certificate of Destruction for your records if needed.
Purge Pricing
Pricing for purges varies significantly across shredding companies, so it is difficult to give an accurate estimate (especially without knowing how much paper you have). However, you can usually expect to pay over $100.00 for a one-time shred regardless of paper quantity.
There will most likely be a minimum charge for the company to send someone to you, and this minimum cost usually covers a pre-set amount of paper (anywhere between the first 10 to 20 boxes on average).
In most cases, the per-unit cost of a purge will become more favorable the larger the job is. The biggest expense for a shredding company is sending someone to a location and the amount of time a Service Rep spends there. In the case of large purge jobs, a shredding company may be able to lower the per-box, per-cabinet, or per-pound pricing.
The best way to estimate how expensive a purge will be is to receive quotes from local shredding companies. In order to strike the right balance between price and quality of service (e.g., how quickly they can get to you, on-site vs. off-site, response time, etc.), it is important to receive at least two or three quotes.
Hack: When receiving a quote from a shredding company, ask them if they have surcharges. Typically, national-level companies are the ones most likely to throw in fuel, recycling, and various other types of surcharges that quickly add up. These extra fees are not always apparent during the quote process.
Recurring Shred Service
How Recurring Service Works:
A shredding company provides you with one or multiple containers that can be used to securely discard paper until a Service Rep arrives to shred (ideally on-site). These containers are locked to protect the information inside, and they come in multiple sizes and types:
Console (32 gallon capacity) - This is the most traditional type of shred container, ideal for an office setting. It has a wooden construction with a paper slot on the front or top and can hold up to 32 gallons worth of paper, which equates to roughly three banker’s boxes worth of paper. Inside the console is either a bag suspended by hooks or a plastic sleeve that sits on the base. During service, a rep will dump the contents of the console into a larger, rollable bin that is then dumped into a shredder.
Bin (32-gallon capacity) - This is a newer style shred container with a plastic construction (which makes it much lighter and easier to move), also ideal for an office setting. It has a paper slot on the top lid and can also hold 32 gallons worth of paper despite its smaller appearance. It is serviced in the same way as a console, the only difference being that the rep lifts the bin itself when dumping the contents into a larger bin.
Bin (64-gallon capacity) - This is a larger, rollable container also made with a plastic construction, similar to the trash bin you roll out to the front of your home but with a slot for paper and a lock on the lid. Due to its size and appearance, it is more suitable for an industrial setting where customers cannot see it, though some offices with high paper volume opt for it. During service, it is lifted directly into the shred truck.
Bin (96-gallon capacity) - This is the largest container type available and also the one most frequently used by Service Reps to collect paper during service. Shredding companies usually do not offer this style bin for recurring service unless a customer has a special need for it. It has the same construction as a 64-gallon bin, only larger.
Note: Exact container capacity sometimes varies across shredding companies depending on which container supplier they use (e.g., 95 gallon instead of 96 gallon). However, all shredding containers more or less follow the above sizing model.
64-gallon bin (left), 32-gallon bin (middle), 32-gallon console (right)
During the quote process, a shredding company can help you determine the ideal number and type of shred containers based on your needs. For example, many offices can get by with one or two 32-gallon containers, while hospitals and other large complexes can have upwards of 200 containers at a given location.
After determining container type and quantity, the next step is to decide on your desired service frequency—that is, how often a shredding company arrives to shred the contents of your container. The most common service frequencies include:
Every week
Every other week
Every four weeks
Every eight weeks
Note: Most shredding companies operate on four-week periods instead of calendar months to maintain regular and predictable service intervals (e.g., instead of “monthly” service, they may offer “four-week service").
The advantage of a more frequent service interval (such as every week or every two weeks) is that you are less likely to experience paper overflow—it also lessens the amount of time that sensitive information is left unshredded.
Once you select a shredding vendor and agree on container quantity and type as well as service interval, the rest is simple. If you are setting up recurring service for the first time, the shredding company will coordinate a day to deliver the container(s) and provide you with one or multiple keys (in case you place something in the container by accident). One customer told us an employee dropped their wedding ring in a console, so keys are important!
After the containers have been placed, the shredding company will inform you of their first official service date. They will then arrive at a set interval depending on the service frequency you chose. It is important to keep your shredding vendor informed about office closures and hours of operation so they do not arrive when no one is there. In the case of holidays or inclement weather, a quality shredding company will get you rescheduled in a timely manner.
Heads up: Some shredding companies (not us) charge their customers for bin and key deliveries. This is something you will want to bring up before you choose a vendor.
Recurring Service Pricing
A number of factors determine the cost of a recurring shred service—and as with purges, we have seen that pricing can be all over the place across shredding companies—however they are all based on a per-service fee. Container type and quantity, service interval, and geographical location are the primary factors that a shredding company uses to determine their pricing.
Due to its recurring nature, scheduled service always has a cheaper per-service fee than a purge. Granted, you have to pay the service fee for as long as you use the shredding service, but it is by far the most secure and compliant option for businesses (in fact, many industries are required by law to regularly and securely dispose of their documents).
Even more so than purges, it is imperative to request quotes from multiple shredding providers before choosing one—we have seen countless businesses lock themselves into contracts with shredding providers that turn out to have lackluster customer service and increasingly expensive prices in the form of surcharges.
Pro Tip: Not all shredding companies require service contracts. Unless you have a particularly large account, it is best to avoid a contract if possible. It can be beneficial if it holds the shredding company accountable and locks in your pricing over a long period of time, but many contracts are written to give shredding companies the upper hand. If you do decide to sign a service contract, read it carefully and be vigilant of surcharges.
At Rock Solid Shredding, we only encourage service agreements when they make sense, and we never make it difficult or costly for you to cancel your service if you decide to do so (because it’s the right thing to do).
So, One-Time vs. Recurring Service: Which is Right for You?
If you only occasionally need to shred paper—to be specific, less often than every two months—a one-time shredding service (or “purge”) is definitely the way to go. Just make sure you choose a shredding provider that shreds on-site for maximum security and peace of mind, and don’t forget to shop around to find the best balance between price, availability, and customer service.
If you need to shred paper on a regular basis—as often or more often than every two months—then recurring service is the best option, both from a security and pricing perspective. The shredding provider you choose is perhaps more important with recurring service than purges as they will be an ongoing partner for your document destruction needs. You want a company that is responsive, professional, and who won’t surprise you with expensive surcharges.
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, you may want to use a combination of both recurring and one-time shredding services. In some industries, record retention laws require that companies store physical documents for an extended period of time, often for multiple years, in which case a one-time purge makes the most sense; however, the daily documents that do not need to be stored and which still contain sensitive information will lend itself more to a recurring shred service. If you already use a shredding company for recurring service, chances are they will give you more favorable pricing for purges, either by waiving the minimum or lowering the per-unit price.
No matter which route you take, you will be headed in the right direction. A quality shredding company makes the process of document destruction easier and more secure than if you try to handle it on your own. And as an added bonus, you will have peace of mind knowing your paper isn’t going to a landfill and is instead being recycled to reduce the environmental impact of paper consumption.