Russell Richardson & Sons Ltd. - Blog

New Reception

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:15:00 GMT

After a brief '60 minute makeover' at our new premises we now have a wonderful display of our services in reception. Pop along to our new premises to see what we can offer right on our doorstep and meet the team who help with your enquiries.

A clear display of shredded paper, tapes, uniform and recycling is now at the front of our reception desk for all to see! Well done to Amanda our Office Manager who designed the concept - it looks great!

Zero to Landfill

Mon, 24 May 2010 13:37:22 GMT

Zero to Landfill

This year we hope to achieve zero to landfill for all our non-paper arisings. Currently as you may be aware, all paper is shredded, baled and sent to paper mills for recycling into tissue products. Cardboard is baled and sent to board mills for converting into new cardboard boxes.

On the office recycling side we can recycle plastic bottles, tin cans, uniforms and electrical equipment. Anything that can't be recycled is sent to a RDF (refuse derived fuel) facility. Here the waste is shredded and turned into a flock. This is then sent to a cement company who use the fuel in their kilns as an alternative to traditional fossil fuels..

The next few years will be quite exciting in the waste industry as new methods of disposal and recycling are brought on stream. Be assured that we will keep you posted on all events that may have an impact on your business.

Posted by: Jonathan Richardson

Computer Recycling: A Double-Sided Coin

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:50:00 GMT

When it comes to computer recycling, your business is faced with a win-win situation:

1) Reduce your E-waste

2) Protect your valuable data through hard drive data destruction

What is E-Waste?

Discarded computer equipment such as monitors, hard drives, circuit boards and printers, is known as e-waste. A single computer can contain up to 2kg of lead, and 23% of a typical PC is made from plastic. E-waste is an increasing global problem; both the UN and the UK’s Environment Agency have urged consumers and businesses alike to make computer recycling a priority when they’re disposing of unwanted electronic equipment.

Why Hard Drive Data Destruction?

Business users have a much more direct incentive for computer recycling: the protection of their confidential data. A professional computer recycling firm will safely implement hard drive data destruction to protect your business from damaging and costly data breaches and potential prosecution.

Plenty of companies have failed to instigate effective hard drive data destruction, and have paid the price. For example, in 2008, over one million American Express, Royal Bank of Scotland, and NatWest customer’s details were discovered on a hard drive sold on eBay!

Post by: Jonathan Richardson

Hard drive shredding

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:34:02 GMT

For those of you with hard drives to dispose of, you may not be aware that the hard drive does not need to be removed from the PC before destruction. The entire box can be shredded! That's right, your old PC's can go straight into the shredder. All the innards (hard drive, motherboard, dvd drive) are completely destroyed and then the various metals are extracted for recycling.

Watch this space for a video clip in the near future.

Post by: Jonathan Richardson

Battery fire risk

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:34:09 GMT

I was speaking to a metals recycling guy last week and he was telling me of the risks involved in battery recycling. Apparently, when different types of batteries are stored together there is a risk of them sparking and starting a fire. I have inserted a link to a Canadian government website below which explains in more detail.

www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/labour/fire_protection/policies_standards/guidelines/safe_storage.shtml

Don't forget your WEEE

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:24:32 GMT

Just a quick reminder that we can remove all types of WEEE. This includes hazardous WEEE such as monitors (which contain lead), fridges (ozone depleting substances) and fluorescent tubes (mercury). Also we can take all types of non-hazardous WEEE such as printers, photocopiers, kettles and vacuum cleaners.

Call Jonathan on 0800 294 6552 for more details.

National Fraud Authority

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:23:08 GMT

Dr Bernard Herdan from the National Fraud Authority was on the BBC Breakfast programme this morning. Apparently, fraud is costing us all all £30 billion a year. Data destruction is an area where we can all take steps to help prevent personal and commercial fraud. The message remains the same, get ALL your paper shredded. Security shredding costs very little when compared against other overheads that companies incur. Private individuals can have their paper shredded free in return for a small charitable donation. By the way if you look on the bbc's website on the link below, they are showing a picture of line shredded paper. This is still not secure enough! Shredded paper should be cross shredded and then mixed in with other shredded material making identification nearly impossible.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8473167.stm

Information Commissioner gets tough with big fines

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:15:22 GMT

As from 6 April 2010 the Information Commissioner will have new powers to levy fines of up to £500,000 for serious breaches of data security. If you aren't already doing so, it's time to take security shredding seriously. As usual we have lagged behind the United States in legislation protecting personal data but fines will now become more frequent and more publicised. Not just for the big high profile cases like a government minister leaving a laptop on the back seat of a car but the local doctor's surgery or dentist who throws out confidential records with their rubbish. When you consider that for less than £50 you could have a filing cabinet full of medical records shredded on-site by a mobile shredding truck ( that's 1/10,000th of the maximum fine) it's not a big decision to make. For more information on the Information Commissioner's press release, follow this link:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/pressreleases/2010/penalties_guidance_120110.pdf

Post by: Jonathan Richardson

Secure skips now available for security shredding

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:58:40 GMT

Secure skips are now available for your security shredding and waste disposal. The lockable enclosed skips are available for one-off use or for continuous hire. Skips are particularly useful if you don't have enough storage room within your building. They can be left on-site and emptied as required. We can even do this overnight and distance is no object. They are also great for storing confidential waste prior to being shredded on-site with a mobile shredding truck.

Post by: Jonathan Richardson

Paper recycling is not always a good thing

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:07:01 GMT

Being in the shredding business, I obviously have a vested interest in people shredding their paper. However, it is surprising how many people will ask us for a security shredding service AND a paper recycling service (without shredding). This is potentially very dangerous. Which staff member decides what's confidential and what's not? Take my advice, whichever shredding contractor you use, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS have ALL your paper shredded. This removes any risk and ensures you have your customer's, employee's and supplier's best interests at heart.

Post by: Jonathan Richardson, Managing Director, Russell Richardson & Sons Ltd