Barrett Walker said, "I would continue to use the same vendor and just tossin the digital media in with the paper.  If they catch you, play dumb."

You're fired. 


If that wasn't tongue in cheek (and based upon subsequent posts, I don't think it was), you really need to check your attitude here. The reason that paper shredding is generally pretty competitive in cost is that it can (and should) ultimately be recycled. The revenue from the selling of the paper (such as that goes with the variability of the market) helps keep the cost down. But when some idjit decides to use the shred bin as a garbage can and really contaminates the material, all that stuff gets landfilled -- and the vendor pays to tip that load. CDs usually aren't that hard to dispose of if you don't have many of them. Peter's suggestion for some CD shredders is a good one for very low volumes. Another alternative would be a special bin from the vendor for electronic media. Have them pick it up quarterly or on demand.

The reason that it costs more to pulverize electronic media is that it takes more labor per pound and it is very difficult to recycle the post destruction waste. Yes, there are places which manage to sort out the aluminum, copper, silver, silicon, plastic and so forth, but you need significant volumes to make money on that stuff. (The ones that I have seen use all sorts of shaker tables and screens and such to sort the material.  That takes capital and space.) Otherwise, it is just waste to be landfilled and that costs money. In addition, the shredding / pulverizing equipment needs to be cleaned and serviced after munching on that stuff if it is also used for paper.


Most shred vendors who shred at plants will hand sort the material before it gets shredded, hoping to grade the paper a bit better as well as remove contaminants. The truck shredders are increasingly hands off, so whatever is in the bin gets shredded, but I'm willing to bet that the operator has a pretty good idea when CDs and hard drives get crunched.

To suggest that anyone should knowingly and deliberately violate the terms and conditions of a service contract and then lie about your action is highly unethical. It violates the Code of Professional Responsibility and likely violates many employers' Codes of Ethics.

I don't think that I have gone toe to toe with anyone on the List for a long time, but this statement really set me off. To the rest of the List, I apologize. To Mr. Walker, I suggest that you take a good look at your ethical behavior.

By the way, I am not a vendor. They don't need me to run interference for them.

 
Patrick Cunningham, CRM, FAI
[log in to unmask]


List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]