Frequently Asked Questions

Hard drives that are non-operational still retain information on the disc platter. Degaussing magnetically erases all of the information contained on the disc platter, thereby making the hard drive safe for destruction and disposal.

No. Hard drives are not re-usable after degaussing because the degaussing process erases all data, formatting and control track (servo track) information. This information is contained on hard drives in magnetic patterns. The degaussing process removes all magnetic patterns eliminating the possibility of recovery and readies the hard drive for destruction and disposal.

If it explains the what, why, when and how of your destruction practices, a stated policy will minimize any hint of impropriety.

Isolating special records for destruction could lead to the conclusion that those documents were treated differently for the wrong reason. NEVER let some records go in the trash , while other are shredded.

If some documents go to your shredding service provider on a regular basis, and others are shredded outside of that process, it may draw attention to that activity.

Sporadic shredding can be misconstrued as suspicious.

We don’t like to call it a contract. All of our Container Service customers sign a service agreement. With recent changes in regulations pertaining to privacy and the handling of confidential information, it is necessary for us to utilize service agreements with our customers in order to establish a formal business relationship pertaining to the handling of your confidential materials. Having a service agreement in place protects you as it provides an ongoing record of regulatory compliance. It shows that you’ve taken the necessary steps to securely dispose of your confidential information.

Every business has some form of confidential information. All businesses on occasion have to discard data. Customer lists, price lists, sales statistics, drafts of bids, contracts and correspondence, and even memos contain information about business activity which would interest any competitor. Every business is also entrusted with employee and customer information that by law must be kept private. An on-site shredding service is your best defense against future liability and potential identity theft.

Security! Once your documents leave your location, you can never be sure what actually happens to them, how long they may be stored waiting to be destroyed or who may have access to those documents. With on-site shredding, you are able to witness the entire document destruction process because the destruction is performed at your location.

Most off-site companies are really paper or fiber recyclers whose main business is obtaining fibers to recycle therefore they sort the paper according to grade in order to obtain the highest price. The sorting process requires additional handling of your documents. Also with on-site shredding, you have no worries in the event that the mobile shredding truck should be in an accident after leaving your location because the papers are all shredded. But if the off-site truck should be in an accident, your documents could be scattered at the site of the accident….in readable form for anyone to read.

We are a member of the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID). We also adhere to all applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines including HIPAA, FACTA, and GLBA requirements.

Just call us and we will schedule an earlier service appointment.

Frequency of service is determined by your company’s unique needs. We can provide services which are weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly. If you have busier seasons than other times of the year, we can always adjust the frequency as your needs change.

The period of time that confidential records are stored should be determined by a retention schedule that takes into account the useful value of documents to the business and governing legal requirements. By not adhering to ongoing destruction of documents that have outlived their usefulness, businesses exhibit disposal practices that could be negatively construed in the event of litigation or audit. We recommend that our customers contact their accountant and/or attorney to develop a retention schedule that best suits their business or personal needs.

No. Complimentary locking confidential document collection containers are provided for our regularly scheduled Container Service customers. We offer locking security consoles and larger rolling security bins, depending upon your specific needs and the space available; however, Abraham’s On-Site Shredding Service retains ownership of any/all containers.

We accept payment by check, MasterCard and Visa. Qualified customers can arrange for services to be invoiced and paid via a billing schedule.

Our fees are based on the actual quantity of documents that are destroyed because we want to give the best value to our customers. This way, you are paying strictly based on the actual quantity of documents that you have to be destroyed…not for boxes that may be partially filled or for the time it takes the shredding personnel to take the documents out to the truck for destruction.

Yes. A video camera captures the shredding process which may be viewed on a monitor located on the side of our truck. We invite all of our customers to witness the entire destruction process.

No. Our shredding personnel will do all the heavy lifting and bring the documents out to the truck for destruction. Whenever possible, it is preferred that the documents be located at ground level – in the event that no elevator is available.

Yes. We will shred the contents of your storage boxes. The boxes are yours to re-use.

Our mobile equipment has the capacity to shred up to 5,000 pounds per hour and leaves the shredded waste in a completely unreadable form. The truck has a legal payload capacity of approximately 8,000 pounds.

Absolutely not. Strip shredding is a very inefficient method of shredding documents because documents which are strip shred can easily be reconstructed. Our professional mobile equipment uses a pierce-and-tear cross shred method of destruction which renders your documents into small unreadable pieces. Nothing will leave your premise in readable form.

No. There is no need to remove staples, paper clips, folders, rubber bands or even CDs or diskettes. (We do not destroy heavier metals such as 3-ring binders, large binder clips, plastic, vinyl, x-rays or household waste…those items should be removed in advance,)

No job is too big or too small for us to handle. We can accommodate any size job. We literally shred tons of paper every week for clients ranging from small residential customers to large companies. Our routinely scheduled Container Service customers may range from one container serviced on a monthly or quarterly basis to customers with multiple containers which are serviced weekly. Purges are performed on an as-needed basis and often are scheduled annually or semi-annually and can include a few boxes of documents to hundreds of boxes of documents.

Yes. We issue a Certificate of Destruction for each shredding visit which documents the quantity of documents that were properly destroyed. You will receive a copy for your paper trail and we will retain a copy on file at our office. This documentation is important for your compliance records.

Recycling is very important to us therefore all of the paper that we shred is securely recycled. It is then baled and sent to paper mills where it is de-inked, pulped, and repurposed into other materials such as toilet paper or tissues. The shredded waste never remains in its original form and is never used for any other purpose.

All of your documents are shredded on-site at your location within the confines of our mobile shredding truck so nothing leaves in readable form. You are welcome to witness the entire document destruction process.

Absolutely! Small businesses have limited personnel resources. It makes sense that you would utilize your personnel for the specific skills that they were hired for instead of the mundane task of shredding documents. Plus there is added security when you are not allowing a staff person to handle the confidential documents of your company. We can provide a convenient and secure plan that has the flexibility to meet your company’s unique needs and schedule.

It is the law! Every business produces some form of confidential data. You have a legal responsibility to prevent sensitive client and/or employee information from falling into the wrong hands. Our secure document destruction service helps you meet this obligation.

After you have called to arrange for our container service, we will deliver locking confidential document collection consoles and/or bins to your facility. As you and your employees produce confidential waste, you will deposit the confidential material into the locked containers. Then, on a mutually agreed upon schedule, our truck will come to your location, shred whatever documents that have accumulated in the locked containers, and then leave you with the empty locking containers to begin using again until the next routine scheduled shred date. Your and/or another employee are always welcome to witness the entire document destruction process and a “Certificate of Destruction” will be issued with each shredding visit.

After you have called to make an appointment for a record purge, our specially designed professional shredding truck will arrive at your location at the designated time frame. Your documents will be placed in large rolling bins. The bins are then attached to a lifting device located on the side of the truck. The bins are lifted up and the contents are tipped into the large hopper that feeds into the shredder. The shredded waste is then accumulated in the back two thirds of the truck. You are able to witness the entire document destruction process and a “Certificate of Destruction” will be issued for your paper trail. Your shredded waste becomes co-mingled with other customer’s shredded waste and then it gets securely recycled.

Yes. In addition to serving commercial customers, we also serve residential customers. We can come to your home (or where ever the documents are stored) to shred your confidential material so nothing leave in readable form. You can witness the entire destruction process.

Yes, we are fully insured and bonded. A “Certificate of Insurance” is available upon request.

Our regular service area includes: Southeast Wisconsin (Kenosha, Racine, Walworth, southern Waukesha and southern Milwaukee counties) and Northeast Illinois (McHenry and Lake counties).