Shredding documents a way to fight identity theft

Company will offer free service Saturday at the Springs Preserve

You've double checked your computer's firewalls, protected your PIN number as if your life depended on it and worn out your scissors cutting up old credit cards. But with all the concerns about electronic security, it might be easy to overlook good, old-fashioned document destruction. That's where Shred-it comes in.

The company has been in Las Vegas for nine years, four of those at the current location at 7180 Placid St., Suite A. It is part of a larger company with 130 offices across the U.S. and in five countries.

Unlike most companies, Shred-it comes to the customer's home or business to shred documents, although it predominantly deals with commercial shredding. Depending on the client's needs, Shred-it will go to the location on a schedule determined by the client, from weekly to quarterly.

The client drops the papers to be shredded directly into a slot in a locked cabinet that Shred-it provides. Inside the cabinet, there is an opaque plastic bag, which Shred-it collects and brings to the shredding compartment of its truck. Shred-it employees lock a gate behind them so that there is no chance of the papers blowing away. The bag is upended into the shredder, and Shred-it employees never actually see the document before it is destroyed, according to staffers.

"If you're the client," said Larry Howard, security consultant for Shred-it, "you're the last one whose eyes see it, the last one to touch it.

The shredding process itself is quick and thorough, Howard explained.

"The high-speed grinders will chew up a banker's box of papers in 1.2 minutes," said Howard. "It's fast, efficient. You don't have to worry about staples, paperclips, bulldog clips; it'll grind them up, too. They shred it right there before leaving your property and give you a document of destruction. We're in the security business. We provide a continuous chain of responsibility to the point where it's totally destroyed. You maintain authority over it until then."

Dickie Mathews of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Investigations, who works in the Las Vegas office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is pleased with Shred-it. The department had been using the company for bulk shredding, but recently contracted for monthly service.

"The company we had been using before took the documents off site," she said. "Shred-it is local, and their accounting is good."

Mathews said that an agent can go down and watch the entire procedure.

"We just have a better feeling with them," she said.

The documents inside the shredding truck are cut into confetti and mixed with 15 to 20 other companies' documents. Then, the load is taken directly to a recycling plant, where paper clips, staples and any other metal is extracted mechanically.

"The next time you see it, it's low-grade paper towels or toilet paper," said Howard.

The company was founded on an eco-friendly basis, Howard said.

"One hundred percent of the paper product gets recycled," he said. "The cabinets are made of processed, recycled wood fiber. The hydraulic fluid that we use to run the grinders is a special composite that is biodegradable, so it's a lot more expensive, but when we get through with it, it doesn't wind up becoming a pollutant that stays for a thousand years. We even recycle the trucks. Parts are cannibalized, and what can't be used is turned over to a recycler who deals in steel."

The exception to the rule is plastics. Some companies, such as lawyers' offices, have to destroy video tapes, CDs, DVDs and other recording materials. Once a month, the company does a special dirty shred route. It's called dirty because the materials can't be easily recycled.

"That, unfortunately, has to go to a landfill," said Howard.

Although the company usually runs without incident, there are bumps in the road.

"About three weeks ago, I got a call from a customer. Somehow, I don't know how, someone dropped their wallet into the cabinet," said Howard. "They couldn't find a key, so that's when I put on my little red cape and drove up there and opened it for them."

On Saturday, the public will have an opportunity to see a Shred-it truck in action from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the eco-friendly Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd.

"Bob Linden, the president of the company, has been very active in the United Way," said Howard. "He partnered together with the United Way and Channel 8 for this annual event."

Residents can bring up to two boxes of personal documents they want shredded and have it shredded free of charge at the event.

"They'll even get a little document of destruction," said Howard. "If they have more stuff, like if they want to clean out an office or an attic, there's a minimal fee, and that goes to the United Way fund, so it's a way for us to help the community and help the United (Way) fund."