Confidential waste collection and shredding
Confidential waste collection takes paper carrying personal or commercial information and destroys it under a tracked chain of custody. Shredding happens on site in a vehicle at your kerb, or off site at a destruction plant. Either way you get a certificate of destruction.
We arrange the collection through licensed carriers. The price on your quote is the carrier's rate plus our margin, shown before you sign. If your current contract prices well for your volume and collection frequency, we say so and you stay put.
What needs shredding
UK GDPR says personal data cannot be kept longer than you need it. You have to justify the period (ICO, Article 5(1)(e), accessed 10 August 2026). Using a shredding service is fine, if you satisfy yourself it destroys the paper securely (ICO, page updated 21 April 2025). That company is your data processor, so you need a contract with it. Paper waiting for collection counts too.
In England, shredded confidential paper still counts as paper and card under Simpler Recycling. Those workplace rules came into force on 31 March 2025. Firms under 10 full-time equivalent staff have until 31 March 2027 (GOV.UK, accessed 10 August 2026).
On site or off site
On site, the vehicle shreds at your kerb and you can watch it happen. BSIA's guide to BS EN 15713:2023 says those vehicles must be box bodied. Doors have to lock or seal (BSIA Form 204, Issue 5, October 2024). The catch is parking space, which rules out plenty of alleyway and side-access sites.
Off site, sealed material travels to a destruction plant. Destruction happens within one working day of arrival, and in any event within 96 hours of collection (BSIA, same guide). You give up watching it happen. You gain capacity for higher volume.
Consoles and bins
Lockable consoles and bins come free with the service, and a deposit slot means paper goes in and stays in. Console sacks hold up to 40kg, so they are emptied where they stand (Restore Datashred, accessed 10 August 2026).
The paper trail
BS EN 15713:2023 confirms destruction with a certificate of destruction (BSIA, October 2024). It is evidence under an industry standard rather than a legal document, so it does not stand in for the waste transfer note. Both businesses sign that note and keep a copy for two years (GOV.UK, accessed 10 August 2026).
Who collects it
Your collection is made by CARRIER + EA PERMIT — Kev to supply. Under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, waste may go only to an authorised person, with a written description (legislation.gov.uk, accessed 10 August 2026). That duty stays with you after the bags leave. Anyone who transports waste, or arranges its disposal, must register with the Environment Agency (GOV.UK, accessed 10 August 2026).
Tell us your streams at business waste collection. Everything else we arrange sits on commercial waste.
Common questions
- What do you do with confidential waste?
Collected in a locked container, then shredded at your kerb or at a plant. You get a certificate of destruction and a waste transfer note.
- Is it okay to dispose of confidential documents in regular bins?
Not where the paper carries personal data. ICO names secure confidential waste bins as the control for records awaiting destruction (ICO, accessed 10 August 2026).
- What is the safest way to dispose of confidential documents?
Destruction by a vetted provider under a written contract. BS EN 15713:2023 requires staff screened under BS 7858 and a signed deed of confidentiality (BSIA, October 2024).
- Can you take confidential waste to the tip?
Treat that as a no. Business waste carries a duty of care, so it has to go to an authorised person (legislation.gov.uk, accessed 10 August 2026).