According to a recent survey, American businesses are looking for affordable and flexible options when it comes to recycling.

Many Recycling destruction firms have contracted with Coral Gables, Fla.-based AJR & Partners to conduct research into the recycling habits of U.S. businesses. The results will help determine how companies such as The File Room headquartered in Saint Louis, MO can help to improve business recycling rates in the country.

According to the Survey, 90 percent of American businesses practice some form of recycling and 10 percent do not. Fifteen industries, including manufacturing, electronics, software, medical services, finance, insurance, real estate, education, retail and public administration, were represented by survey participants from all over the country. More than two-thirds of the survey respondents reported that their annual revenue was less than $25 million, while 20 percent said their annual revenue was less than $1 million.

According to the survey: 

• Ninety percent of respondents either don’t know how their data is destroyed or have insufficient data destruction practices for protecting their organizations from data leaks or hackers retrieving sensitive information.
• The top three waste streams with recycling rates greater than 80 percent are batteries, electronics and lamps.
• Slightly more than half (51 percent) of firms that do not recycle say their customers, vendors and employees want them to recycle; however, 72 percent of these companies say the primary reasons for not having a recycling program in place is the lack of options or the cost.
• Forty-five percent of respondents that do recycle said their cost of doing business has decreased by having a recycling program in light of lower insurance premiums or reduced liability for the company.
• About 40 percent of all companies responding reported a need for more access to recycling options. 

“The 2010 Survey was important for us to learn how to improve customer service and better communicate the benefits of recycling,” says Rita Grant the General Manager of The File Room. “Since options and flexibility are important to most companies, we are able to provide those solutions while helping to reduce operational liability and regulatory costs.” 

More than two-thirds (72 percent) of the companies that do not recycle say it is either too costly to do so or they do not have available options in their geographic region. One-third of the companies that responded say they do not recycle because there is no law mandating it.  

Slightly more that half say their customers, vendors and employees want them to recycle, but the options are not there for them to meet those demands. Ten percent of respondents that do not recycle say they have no interest in it. 

The top three obstacles to increasing recycling among those respondents that do so are space limitations for recycling containers, the inconvenience of separating materials and the cost.  

Thirty-five percent of respondents say more training is needed to implement recycling programs for different types of waste streams.  

Close to two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents that recycle say they do not know how data on their electronic devices are destroyed. More than a quarter (27 percent) of respondents say they delete files off of their computers.  

“Just deleting files does not completely destroy the information, but simply moves the files to an area of the hard drive that is not visible to the average person,” Rita says. “The File Room specializes in electronic waste by completely destroying all data contained on data storage devices collected from clients and ensuring that disposal adheres to our zero-waste-to-landfill policy.”  

AERC Recycling Solutions operates five electronics processing facilities, also known as Com-Cycle, in five separate geographic locations. More information is available at http://www.aercrecycling.com/

As a Record Manager you have to think not only about hard copy storage and destruction but about items that stored daily on your servers – your computers and yes now your phones. Technological innovation, tighter regulation, and a variety of new content channels have all increased the demands placed on electronic archives. Today, archives must address a range of challenges that go beyond its traditional function as a storage facility for email. Archives must serve multiple purposes across all enterprise content, which includes deriving value from information, automating business processes and facilitating compliance and eDiscovery. Therefore, archiving today requires advanced strategy and technology to help you be intelligent about how you manage your enterprise content.

There are many issues that The File Room has to take into consideration as they help companies develop and implement a very specific archiving policies and practices, including:

• Handling all document types and formats, including email, rich media and social media
• Auto classification
• Retention Management and Content disposition
• Corporate governance and Legal mandates (federal/state/local laws and industry regulations)
• Legal holds
• The impact of the Cloud
• End user access and Mobility

These are just a few elements that face all record managers today, issues that we did not have to face 10 years ago or even 5 years ago for that matter. So the questions are: have your reviewed your current policies? Do have a written policy? Are you even following and enforcing that policy? These are critical questions that must asked and answered in the world we live in today so that you remain ready.

You have convinced yourself about the importance of hiring the services of a professional document shredding company. This is an important decision but do you know what to look for, to get the best deal? Here are 10 pointers that many experts, that I have talked to over the years – but especially those at The File Room, to guide you in the right direction:

1. How often do you need the services of the document shredding company? While some need it once in a few weeks, some are happy with one service once in a few months. However you need to check whether they have call in service when you need them.
2. There is always a possibility that the need for document shredding comes up unexpectedly, as a huge volume of paper has been generated which need to be destroyed. Would the company be available for such call in service? If yes, how time prior notice do they need?
3. Would the company provide you with free containers, placed strategically, for ease of use? If needed, can they provide extra containers without charging anything extra? Check for the quality of such containers and whether they are lockable or not.
4. Check whether the shredding services follow the strict security standards as instituted by the National Association of Information Destruction (NAID). This is the highest authority in the shredding industry. You must know whether the shredding company is NAID-certified.
5. The company should provide you with a Certificate of Destruction which is an important legal document, immediately after they have undertaken a shredding assignment. This document should be duly signed by the Company representative, dated, stamped and the method of destruction should be mentioned with a reference number. Some shredding companies provide this certificate every time while some may give this along with their monthly invoice.
6. Ensure whether the actual shredding operation is done in the company of one of your representatives. This needs a viewing monitor which allows you to watch the shredding.
7. Are you obliged to sign a long-term contract with the shredding company? There are several companies which do not require any signing of any contract.
8. What about their payment terms? Do they want you to pay upfront before any services are rendered?
9. Check what kind of materials they destroy. For example CDs. DVDs, X-ray plates, etc may need to be destroyed – would they do these jobs too?
10. Finally check whether the shredding services is bonded and insured. This is because you would need insurance, especially if you are a large company.

Many years of experience tells me that there are many other questions out there to ask but this will give you a good start. A start that will lead you to the right company to assist you in your document destruction and certification. In today’s world, we all must be vigilant about privacy and protecting information that we are charged to protect which is why you go with the company that you can trust.