Document destruction done right, by people who live here
MyPaperShredding is a founder-led, locally rooted document destruction company serving 16 cities across metro Boston for 18 years. We exist because regulated industries (medical, legal, financial, education) and privacy-conscious residents deserve a vendor with documented compliance, transparent pricing and a real person on the other end of the phone. No layered subcontractors. No annual price escalators. No anonymous Certificate signed three states away.
A founder-led company built on a simple idea
MyPaperShredding launched in Tewksbury, Massachusetts in 2007 with a thesis that has not changed since: document destruction is a service where the operational details matter more than the brand on the truck. Who handles the paper. Where it goes. Who signs the Certificate. What happens when something goes wrong. Customers who care about those details deserve a vendor whose answers do not require five phone transfers and a regional manager three states away.
The company was founded as a sister operation to Neighborhood Parcel, a long-running independent business services provider serving the Merrimack Valley. The shredding division grew out of a recurring conversation with Neighborhood Parcel customers: “We need a shredding service we can trust, and we want it from people we already know.” We built this company to answer that question.
18 years later, our model is exactly what it was on day one. One facility. One team. One chain of custody. One Certificate signed by named operators. Transparent pricing posted publicly. No long-term contracts. No annual escalators. No subcontracted handoffs.
Most of our growth has come from referrals. Medical practices recommend us to other practices. Law firms recommend us to other firms. Estate executors recommend us to siblings closing the next family home. Boston Financial District compliance officers compare quotes and switch. The 16-city footprint we serve today was not built by sales blitz; it was built one referral at a time across 18 years of doing the work right.
We are still founder-led, still locally owned, still operating from the same Tewksbury facility we opened in 2007. The owner is local, the team is local, the phone number is local. When something goes wrong, the response is in person within hours, not a call center ticket routed somewhere else. That is the model. That is the entire pitch.
The person whose name is on the door
Local accountability starts at the top
Erica McKowski founded MyPaperShredding in 2007 and has led the company continuously since. She is the operational owner, the policy-setter, the person whose name signs the Business Associate Agreements and the person whose desk a customer escalation reaches when one needs to. There is no holding company. There is no private equity sponsor. There is no acquisition pending. The company exists to do the work.
Customers who call the published phone number reach the same line that reaches Erica’s desk. When a HIPAA medical client needs an emergency same-week pickup, when a Concord estate executor wants witnessed destruction with a notarized Certificate, when a Boston law firm needs to discuss a multi-year retention destruction event, the path to the answer is one phone call. That is what founder-led accountability looks like in operations.
Four pillars that define how we operate
Not marketing claims. Operational realities customers can verify before they hire us and audit after we deliver.
18-Year Track Record, Zero Reportable Breaches
We have operated continuously since 2007 across thousands of pickups, drop-offs and scheduled service events. Across that span, our chain of custody has not produced a reportable HIPAA breach, a FACTA disposal complaint or a Massachusetts 201 CMR 17.00 enforcement action tied to our process. Track records compound. The longer a vendor operates without an incident, the more confident the next client should feel.
Local Accountability vs National Chains
We are not a Stericycle subsidiary. We are not part of a multi-state franchise network. We are not a regional operator with a brand-licensing arrangement. We are an independent, founder-led, single-facility operation in Tewksbury serving metro Boston directly. When a client raises an issue, the response comes from the person responsible, in person, within hours. See our Compare Us page for the documented case against national chain accountability gaps.
Documented Compliance Across Four Frameworks
Every job we run satisfies HIPAA & HITECH for medical clients, FACTA Disposal Rule for financial clients, Massachusetts 201 CMR 17.00 for any business holding MA resident data and the documented destruction standards under SEC Rule 17a-4 for registered investment advisers. Cross-cut destruction meets NIST SP 800-88 Destroy-level standards. Every Certificate is notarized. See full HIPAA medical shredding details.
Community Partnership Built Into Operations
The company has been a documented community partner across the Merrimack Valley since founding. We support Lazarus House, regional food pantries, Toys for Tots and a recurring schedule of free community shredding days for residents. Local businesses succeed when local communities thrive; we treat that as policy, not a marketing line. See our community involvement below.
Eighteen years of locally led operations
MyPaperShredding launches in Tewksbury
Erica McKowski opens the company at 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, as a sister operation to Neighborhood Parcel. Initial service: drop-off shredding for Merrimack Valley residents and small businesses. The model: transparent pricing, no contracts, one chain of custody, one Certificate.
HIPAA medical service line launches
Independent medical and dental practices across the Merrimack Valley begin requesting documented HIPAA-compliant destruction with Business Associate Agreements. We add medical shredding as a dedicated service line with notarized Certificates of Destruction every job.
Service area extends south to Boston metro
Demand from Boston Financial District law firms, Back Bay residential clients and Longwood Medical Area independent practices drives expansion of off-site pickup service into the Boston metro corridor. Dedicated routes added for downtown commercial buildings.
Scheduled service with locked consoles introduced
Medical practices and law firms generating ongoing PHI ask for recurring weekly and monthly pickup with locked consoles. We launch the scheduled service tier with month-to-month contract terms. No auto-renewal. No annual escalator. No early termination fees.
AA+ rating confirmed by Boston Business Association
The Boston Business Association certifies the Tewksbury facility AA+ rated covering security, chain of custody, employee background checks, video surveillance, secured storage and destruction equipment standards. The rating is renewed annually.
Service area reaches 16 cities
Coverage expands west and southwest into the Route 2 corridor and the Boston Metro suburbs. By 2020 our active service footprint includes 16 cities from Boston downtown to Fitchburg, all served from one Tewksbury facility under one chain of custody.
Witnessed shredding becomes complimentary
Estate executors, compliance officers and IP-conscious biotech clients increasingly request witnessed destruction at our facility. We move witnessed shredding from an add-on charge to complimentary on every drop-off, included at no extra cost.
Eighteen years of continuous operation
Same founder. Same facility. Same phone number. Same model: founder-led, locally rooted, transparent pricing, no contracts, documented compliance. The plan for the next 18 years is the same plan as the first 18.
Documented compliance across every framework our clients face
We do not run a generic shredding service that hopes to satisfy regulators. We run a documented destruction service designed to meet the four federal and state frameworks our clients are audited against.
HIPAA & HITECH (Medical Clients)
Boston, Concord and Burlington medical practices, Longwood Medical Area independent operations and any covered entity must dispose of Protected Health Information under HIPAA’s documented standard. Our cross-cut shredding meets the requirement. We sign a Business Associate Agreement before any pickup. HHS guidance on HIPAA disposal.
Massachusetts 201 CMR 17.00
Every Massachusetts business owning or licensing personal information about a state resident must develop a Written Information Security Program (WISP) that includes documented secure disposal. Our Certificate satisfies this state-specific paperwork requirement. Mass.gov regulation text.
SEC Rule 17a-4 (Financial Clients)
Investment advisers, broker-dealers and family offices in the Boston Financial District and across metro Boston must destroy records past the 17a-4 retention window under documented procedures. Our Certificate enters the firm’s Written Supervisory Procedures compliance file directly. SEC rules and regulations.
FACTA Disposal Rule & GLBA Safeguards
Accountants, financial advisors, mortgage brokers, real estate offices and insurance agents must dispose of consumer financial information under both the FTC FACTA Disposal Rule and the GLBA Safeguards Rule. Our process satisfies both standards in one Certificate. FACTA Disposal Rule.
NIST SP 800-88 Destroy-Level Standards
Cross-cut shredding meets NIST SP 800-88 sanitization standards for paper media destruction at the Destroy level (the highest tier). The same standards apply to our hard drive and media destruction service for digital records. NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 1.
FERPA (Education Sector)
School districts, private schools and universities across our service area must dispose of student education records and parent financial information under FERPA documented procedures. Our Certificate documents destruction in a way that satisfies FERPA reviews and Department of Education audits.
Our facility, our team, our process
National chains describe their operations in marketing brochures. We describe ours in concrete numbers a customer can verify on a visit.
Eighteen years of giving back to the Merrimack Valley
Local businesses thrive when local communities thrive. We treat that as operating policy across three recurring partnerships.
Lazarus House Ministries
Lazarus House serves families and individuals facing homelessness, hunger and poverty in Lawrence and the surrounding Merrimack Valley. We have been a recurring contributor across multiple years, supporting their food pantry operations and emergency assistance programs.
Regional Food Pantries
Food pantries across Tewksbury, Lowell, Lawrence and the broader Merrimack Valley have received recurring contributions tied to our community partnership commitments. Local food security has been a stable focus since the company’s early years.
Toys for Tots
The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program collects toys for children in need during the holiday season. We have participated as a regional collection partner and contributor across multiple years.
We also run free community shredding days throughout the year for residents in our service area. These events help local residents securely destroy household paperwork without cost. Watch our blog or call (978) 636-0301 for upcoming dates.
Six principles that guide every decision
Internal operating standards we share publicly so customers can hold us to them.
Pricing Posted Publicly, No Hidden Fees
Every rate, every fee, every surcharge is documented at our rates page. The number on your quote is the number on your invoice.
Founder-Level Accountability
Customer escalations reach the owner’s desk. There is no hiding behind a regional manager, a call center or a “case will be reviewed” loop.
Documented Chain of Custody, Always
Every job produces a chain of custody document and a notarized Certificate of Destruction. The documentation survives an audit, a discovery request or a regulator inquiry.
No Long-Term Contracts
Pay per pickup or per drop-off. If you stop calling us, you stop paying us. Recurring scheduled service runs month-to-month with no auto-renewal and no early termination fees.
Honest About Our Limits
We are not the right vendor for multi-state corporate clients needing 30-city service. We are not the lowest-priced option for a single 2-pound batch (UPS Store wins that one). When another vendor fits better, we say so.
Local Hiring, Local Operations
Our team lives in the metro Boston communities we serve. The crew that picks up your boxes is the same crew that destroys them at our Tewksbury facility. No subcontractors, no route brokers, no anonymous handoffs.
The compliance frameworks we work under daily
Every credential below maps to a specific regulatory framework our clients are audited against. Each one is verifiable on the issuing body’s website.
Compliant
Compliant
Compliant
Rule Compliant
Business Association
Destroy-Level
Member
Certified Partner
Common questions about our company
How long has MyPaperShredding been in business?
Eighteen years of continuous operation. Founded by Erica McKowski in Tewksbury, Massachusetts in 2007. Same owner, same facility, same phone number across the entire span.
Are you part of a national franchise or holding company?
No. We are an independent, founder-led, locally owned company operating from a single facility in Tewksbury. We are not a Stericycle subsidiary, a Shred-it franchise, a Cintas affiliate or any kind of brand-licensing arrangement. The company you call is the company that does the work.
What does the AA+ Boston Business Association rating mean?
The AA+ rating is the highest tier offered by the Boston Business Association covering security, chain of custody, employee background checks, video surveillance, secured storage and destruction equipment standards. The rating is renewed annually based on documented practices and facility inspection.
Do you have any reportable HIPAA breaches in your history?
No. Across 18 years of operation and thousands of HIPAA-covered destruction events, our chain of custody has not produced a reportable breach, a corrective action notice from HHS or a state attorney general inquiry tied to our process. Track records compound. Long operation without incident is the strongest signal a client can request from a vendor.
Can I visit the facility before hiring you?
Yes. Pre-engagement facility visits are welcome by appointment for HIPAA medical clients, law firms with strict vendor vetting requirements and any prospective client who wants to verify the destruction process before committing. Call (978) 636-0301 to schedule a visit.
Who owns the company?
Erica McKowski has owned and led the company continuously since founding in 2007. There is no holding company, no private equity sponsor, no acquisition pending. MyPaperShredding operates as a sister brand to Neighborhood Parcel, the parent business services entity, and both are independently held.
What happens if you sell the company or change ownership?
We have no intention of selling or transferring ownership. The company has been founder-led for 18 years and the model depends on continuity of ownership. If circumstances ever changed, we would notify all active clients in writing well in advance of any transition and provide options for clients who prefer to switch vendors.
How does your community involvement work?
We run recurring partnerships with Lazarus House, regional food pantries and Toys for Tots, plus periodic free community shredding days for residents. These are not marketing campaigns; they are documented annual commitments built into our operating budget. Local businesses thrive when local communities thrive, and we have lived that for 18 years.
How do I contact your team for general inquiries?
Three ways. Call (978) 636-0301 Monday-Friday 10am-5pm. Email through our contact page. Or visit the facility at 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876 during business hours. We do not route through call centers; the team you reach is the team that runs the operation.
Talk to a real local team about your shredding needs
Posted public pricing. No contracts. No annual escalators. AA+ rated facility. Locally owned in Tewksbury since 2007. Serving 16 cities across metro Boston.
