How much does document shredding cost?
There is no single price for shredding, because a household box of old bank statements and a solicitor's archive room are very different jobs. Rather than publish a headline rate that turns out not to apply to you, we quote on what you actually have — and the quote we give is the price you pay, with no collection charge, fuel surcharge or certificate fee added afterwards.
Tell us roughly how much paperwork you have, where you are and whether you want it destroyed at your premises or at ours, and we will confirm the cost before anything is collected. Most quotes come back the same working day.
What affects the price
How much you have
Price is driven mainly by volume. A few archive boxes is a small one-off job; a stockroom of files is priced in bulk, and the cost per box falls as the volume rises.
On-site or off-site
On-site shredding brings the shredding vehicle to you so you can watch the destruction, which costs more per box than collecting the material in sealed containers and shredding it at our facility.
One-off or ongoing
A single clear-out is quoted as one job. Regular collections — monthly, quarterly or on demand — are priced per visit, which works out lower than repeated one-off jobs.
What the material is
Paper is the standard rate. Hard drives, backup tapes, USB media and ID cards are priced per item because they need physical destruction and licensed electrical recycling.
What is included in every quote
- Collection from your premises, including the lifting and carrying
- Lockable sacks, bags or consoles supplied before collection where needed
- Secure destruction to a cross-cut standard
- Certificate of Destruction for your GDPR and audit records
- Recycling of all shredded paper — nothing goes to landfill
- Fully insured, registered waste carrier throughout
Ways to keep the cost down
Choose off-site destruction. If you do not need to witness the shredding, collecting your material in sealed containers and destroying it at our facility is the cheapest route per box.
Clear everything in one visit. One larger collection almost always costs less than several small ones, so it pays to empty the whole archive rather than a shelf at a time.
Leave paperclips and staples in. Our machinery handles them, so you do not need to pay staff to strip files — and ring binders can go too.
Move to a scheduled contract. If you generate confidential waste every month, a regular collection is cheaper per visit than booking each clear-out separately.
Is shredding cheaper than doing it yourself?
For anything beyond a handful of documents, usually yes. An office shredder ties up staff time, overheats, jams on staples and gives you no certificate to show a regulator. Worse, bagged shreddings left with general waste have caused real ICO cases. A professional collection removes the staff hours, provides documented proof of destruction, and takes legal responsibility for the material once it leaves your door.
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Contact us for secure document shredding services across the North East. We provide confidential consultations and free quotations.