When you’re a business, you tend to compile a lot of junk, even in just one workday. Everything from printed documents to outdated technology, every office just has so much stuff to store.

With a growing number of businesses – large and small, old and new – going paperless, adopting mobile technology and heading to the cloud, workplaces are trying to trim the fat, shed some weight and simply toss out unnecessary items.

Are you one of those companies? If so, we salute you because you’re taking a step in the right direction. On the other hand, if you’re not, then we think it’s time you should.

Well, before you start paper shredding and recycling your documents, hard drives, folders and other items in your office, you need to ensure you’re being secure about the entire process.

Here are five tips to ensure your company’s recycling efforts are secure:

1. What Should You Eliminate?

Once you initiate your recycling initiative, it is time to determine what exactly you should get rid of, store away somewhere and absolutely destroy.

Now, what should you start shredding? Here are a few things to consider:

• Receipts that have your signature and others’.
• Mail that you receive from the bank; updates, accounts or policy changes.
• Information that has private information.
• Employment contracts, legal dealings and other corporate papers.

These are essential to the security and privacy of your entire business.

2. A Shredding Machine is a Must

The most important machine that you could have in your office is a shredder.

Since you’re destroying crucial documents, you want a heavy-duty shredder. Moreover, you also want a shredder that is criss-cross as opposed to one that is horizontal or vertical.

3. Be Sure to Destroy Your Hard Drives

Your office has purchased a lot of technology over the years: computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets and others. In this time, the hard drives that complement these machines have imbibed a lot of data. Do you know what this means? You must really annihilate these hard drives.

Here are some tricks to ensure no one can access your hard drives:

• Delete all of the information in the hard drives.
• Grab a bat and start banging away at the hard drive.
• You can use a shredder to destroy the hard drive.
• Set the hard drive on fire.

These are some of the ways to ensure nothing is ever touched by anyone else.

4. Make Recycling a Part of Your Office Culture

Want to avoid the hassle of recycling everything all at once again? That can easily be avoided: make recycling a part of your office culture.

At first, it can be hard to achieve, but as time goes by your employees can become accustomed to the changes. This can consist of tossing unwanted papers in the shredder and in the recycling bin once a week, backing up and deleting files three times a week and beginning to receive everything by email.

This is not only eco-friendly and great for the office, it is also secure and shield your business from unscrupulous individuals and data breaches.

5. Do You Want Confidential Bins?

Here is an interesting concept that you should consider adopting: confidential bins. A confidential bin is a container inside your office that can keep your sensitive materials safe and secure until the contents are shredded on-site by a professional shredding company. This is one of the best things you can do to securely recycle and keep your information safe.

Paper shredding, document destruction, secure recycling. Whatever you call it, every business and even household should employ these methods. In an age of prevalent identity theft and criminals integrating dumpster diving with hacking, you always want to shield yourself, your home, your office, your business from prying eyes.