Hey, before you shred that document – STOP!
There’s no need to shred documents on the UNMC campus, said Sharon Welna, associate director of compliance in information technology services.
Instead of shredding, Welna said UNMC employees should simply drop documents into the locked green or blue paper recycling bins in their respective areas.
“We have a process that secures the documents from the time that the user disposes of them to the time that they are recycled,” Welna said. “It’s simply unnecessary to shred documents.”
This means employees need not worry about violating HIPAA standards (i.e. patient information), FERPA (i.e. student information) standards, and other consumer protection laws by disposing of unshredded documents, Welna said.
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“Our recycling center has controlled access and that prevents unauthorized individuals from accessing the documents when they are in the center,” Boldt said.
The documents are gathered and shipped to a special recycling center via a locked and sealed truck. The seal on the truck is broken once it reaches the recycling center. The broken seal and certification of destruction is returned to UNMC for verification that the paper has been recycled to be used as paper towels, tissue paper and other items.
Shredding actually is harmful to the recycling process, Boldt said, because shredded documents are limited in the ways they can be reused.
“It is a waste of man hours and resources to shred documents on this campus,”
Boldt said. “Aside from the time that is wasted manually putting documents into a shredder, it’s also costly to purchase and maintain shredders. It’s better all around if people recycle the paper in the locked bins.”
If you have any questions, please contact Boldt at 559-4100 or Welna at 559-2545.