Member Article

Why burning confidential waste doesn't work!

After recently moving house, one of Russell Richardson’s employees found a home incinerator at the bottom of the garden. Full of partially burnt confidential waste, the pictured contents (some of which contained business and personal details) demonstrate why reaching for the matchbox isn’t the answer when it comes to disposing of documents and papers.

Why you shouldn’t burn confidential waste.

It doesn’t work!

Even in the hottest of fires, it is surprisingly difficult to burn paper. Compacted paper, in a file or box, has no air between and limits combustion. The result is documents like the ones found in the garden incinerator (pictured); scorched on the edges and still readable. Feeding documents in one by one is not only time consuming, it requires you to stand uncomfortably and unsafely close to the fire. This method also runs the risk of papers being lifted by the hot air and scattered around.

It’s dangerous.

We were all taught as children about the dangers of starting fires and playing with matches. Fires can easily spread and even a slight change in wind direction can pose a serious risk to life, property and the environment. If you’re feeding documents in to the fire, standing close adds an extra risk, as does the temptation to check hot ashes for any papers not properly destroyed.

It’s not environmentally friendly.

Fire creates air pollution with left over ash containing toxic residue. Burning paper gives off dioxins that are not only bad for the environment, but also pose potential health risks. Add paper clips, staples, plastic wallets in to the mix, then the pollutants are even worse. Paper is easily recyclable and after shredding can be made into soft tissue products, saving trees, water, and energy.

It annoys the neighbours.

If you’re still thinking that burning paper is a good idea, you may need to check with the neighbours. Most people don’t appreciate the smoke and smells!

There’s no need to take the risks….

Russell Richardson provide a range of cost effective paper shredding solutions. With the cross shredded paper sent to the local mill for recycling into soft tissue products, the service is environmentally friendly too. Using industrial shredders, there is no need to remove staples or paper clips and documents can even be left in files and ring binders. Russell Richardson operate a varied fleet of vehicles, so collections of any size are possible.

It’s not only safer, but more secure, time effective and environmentally friendly to let the experts deal with your confidential waste. Call Russell Richardson on 0800 294 6552 or visit the website www.russellrichardson.co.uk for further information.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emma Moorhouse .