Quick Answers
Everything You Want to Ask Before Booking Shredding.
Pricing, scheduling, compliance, recycling, what to bring and what we accept. Twenty-five plus answers covering 99 percent of the questions our metro Boston clients ask before their first appointment.
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Pricing & Plans
Pricing and Service Plan Questions
What does paper shredding cost?
Drop-off and off-site pickup both run $0.99 per pound for any volume, with no minimum. Box pricing applies at 10-box minimum: $15 per small box (10x12x15) or $20 per banker’s box (10x15x24). Off-site pickup adds a transportation fee starting at $129.95, adjusted for mileage. Every job adds the $14.95 HIPAA Filing fee and $17.95 Environmental Compliance fee. See our full pricing page for examples.
What is the difference between drop-off and off-site service?
Drop-off means you bring boxes to our Tewksbury facility and we destroy them while you wait or after you leave. Off-site means our crew picks up at your home or office. Same per-pound and per-box rates either way. Off-site adds the transportation fee. Drop-off has no transportation fee.
Why is there a 10 box minimum on box pricing?
Box rates assume a full transaction. Anything under 10 boxes is almost always cheaper at our 99 cents per pound rate. We will quote whichever is lower for your volume.
Do you offer scheduled service contracts?
Yes. Our scheduled service plans include locked consoles in your office and recurring pickup at a flat monthly rate. Most contract clients run 25 to 40 percent below the equivalent per-job spend after staff time and per-job fees roll in.
Are there discounts for repeat business?
Yes. Customers on a quarterly or monthly schedule pay a flat contract rate that works out below standard box pricing. Multi-location businesses receive volume pricing.
What payment methods do you accept?
Cash, credit card (Visa, MasterCard, AmEx, Discover), business check and ACH transfer. Contract clients are invoiced monthly in arrears with net 15 terms.
Compliance
Compliance and Documentation Questions
Do you provide a Certificate of Destruction?
Yes. Every job produces a Certificate of Destruction with date, location, weight or count of material destroyed, destruction method, customer name and unique Certificate number. Hard copy and email versions provided. The Certificate is what you produce in any audit, regulator inquiry or discovery dispute.
Are you HIPAA compliant?
Yes. We sign a Business Associate Agreement before the first pickup for any medical practice, billing service, behavioral health provider or other covered entity. The BAA documents our role and obligations under HIPAA. See our HIPAA shredding pillar for details.
What other regulations do you cover?
Our process meets the standards under FACTA Disposal Rule (FTC), GLBA Safeguards Rule, Massachusetts 201 CMR 17.00, SEC Rule 17a-4 records destruction, NIST 800-88 media sanitization and HITECH. Documentation is tagged to the relevant framework on request.
How is chain of custody documented?
From pickup at your location through transport to our facility through destruction at our cutter, every transition is logged with operator name, time and condition of seal where applicable. The Certificate of Destruction summarizes the chain.
Are operators background-checked?
Yes. Pickup crew, drivers and shredder operators are background-screened, uniformed, ID-badged and trained in chain-of-custody procedures. We do not subcontract pickup or destruction.
What if we have an OCR or AG audit and need destruction records?
We retain records of every job by date, customer and Certificate number. If you need a duplicate Certificate or a multi-year service log, the file is one phone call away. Most audit-driven document requests are fulfilled within one business day.
Scheduling and Logistics
Scheduling, Pickup and Drop-Off Questions
What are your business hours?
Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 6 PM. Drop-off accepted during all open hours. Pickup runs scheduled in advance. Saturday morning available for urgent court-ordered or audit-driven destruction with advance notice.
How quickly can you schedule pickup?
Same-week pickup available for new clients in most metro Boston cities. Same-day pickup possible for emergencies if you call before noon. Recurring contract clients get standing dates on the calendar.
What cities do you serve?
Boston, Andover, Lowell, Lexington, Burlington, Tewksbury, Wilmington, Waltham, Newton, Lawrence, Haverhill, Methuen, Billerica and Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Our Tewksbury hub serves all 14 cities directly. Surrounding towns within reasonable mileage are served by quote.
Where do I drop off?
1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876. Free parking. Roughly 30 minutes from downtown Boston, 15 from Andover, 10 from Wilmington and 25 from Lawrence. See our contact page for directions.
Do I need an appointment for drop-off?
No appointment for under 5 boxes during regular hours. For 5 or more boxes, a quick phone call ahead helps us reserve operator time. For witnessed destruction, an appointment is required.
Do you handle ground-floor and elevator access only?
Yes for off-site pickup. Our crew can move boxes from any ground-floor location or any floor reachable by elevator. We do not carry boxes up flights of stairs. If your office is in a stairs-only building, we can usually find a workaround like staging boxes in a ground-floor lobby on pickup day.
What We Accept
What You Can Bring or Have Picked Up
Do I need to remove staples, paper clips or rubber bands?
No. Our industrial shredders handle staples, paper clips, rubber bands and folders without preparation on your part. You also do not need to remove hanging file dividers, binder clips or bound folders.
Can you shred 3-ring binders?
Yes. Three-ring binders go through our process whole. You do not need to remove pages from binders.
Can you shred CDs, DVDs or floppy disks?
Yes for small quantities. Drop these into a separate bag or box so they do not mix with paper. Larger media destruction runs through our hard drive destruction service.
Can you destroy hard drives, USB drives and backup tapes?
Yes. We use NIST 800-88 compliant physical destruction for all electronic media. Pricing is per-unit and is quoted separately from paper shredding. See the hard drive destruction page.
What cannot you shred?
Glass, metal larger than paper clips, batteries, hazardous waste, prescription drugs (your local pharmacy or police station handles those), wet paper and biohazards. If unsure, call us before bringing the material.
Do you handle X-ray films and microfiche?
Yes. Both run through specialty destruction processes that recover the silver from X-ray emulsions and the polyester base from microfiche. Pricing differs from standard paper. Quote on request.
Recycling
Recycling and Environmental Questions
Is everything actually recycled?
Yes. 100 percent of shredded paper goes to a certified recycling facility. Zero landfill. Most of our shredded volume becomes pulp for tissue, paperboard and packaging stock.
Can you provide environmental documentation?
Yes. The Environmental Compliance fee on every job covers certified recycling and the underlying paperwork. Sustainability documentation is available on request for ESG, B-Corp or environmental compliance reporting.
Why charge a separate Environmental Compliance fee?
The fee covers the cost of certified recycling delivery, the chain-of-custody documentation between our facility and the recycler and the environmental reporting we maintain. It runs $17.95 per job, drop-off and off-site alike.
What happens to the metal from staples and binders?
Our process separates metals from paper at the recycler stage. The metals go to a separate scrap stream. Nothing ends up landfilled.
Special Situations
Special Cases and One-Off Questions
Can I watch my documents being destroyed?
Yes. Our witnessed shredding service provides direct viewing of destruction at our Tewksbury facility, with same-day Certificate naming the witness. Used commonly for court-ordered destruction, estate closures and compliance audits.
Do you serve estate executors and probate matters?
Yes. Estate cleanouts are one of our most common scenarios. Witnessed destruction provides personal closure for executors and a Certificate naming the matter. Many law firms managing probate use our service for end-of-estate destruction.
What if my business is closing?
Office closures are handled with a single bulk destruction event covering all retained records. The Certificate of Destruction stays with you as proof of compliant wind-down for any post-closure regulator or board inquiries. We see this regularly across all 14 service cities.
Do you handle residential shredding for individuals?
Yes. Our residential service handles tax returns, bank statements, financial records and personal correspondence. Drop-off works well for single-box jobs at the 99 cents per pound rate.
Can the Certificate of Destruction be customized?
Yes. For court-ordered destruction we add the case caption and order date. For estate work we add the estate name and probate matter number. For HIPAA matters we add the BAA reference. Tell us at booking what you need on the document.
Question Not Listed? Call or Send a Message.
Most questions answered within one business day. Same-day callbacks available before 4 PM Monday through Friday across all 14 metro Boston cities.
