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Written by The McCarthy's Team on June 5, 2017

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World Environment Day (5^th June) should make all of us, individuals and businesses alike, pause for thought and consider what steps we’re taking to be as kind to the environment as possible.

There’s some shocking stats out there that really do make you take stock. For example, according to the Earth Day Network our planet is currently losing over 15 billion trees each year—that’s 56 acres of forest every single minute.

We like to think we’re doing our bit where we can – whilst also encouraging businesses to keep safe and on the right side of the law.

For the last four years, McCarthy’s Safe Shred has taken the confidential waste from organisations across the region, and refashioned it into paper towels, facial tissues and even toilet paper, with the help of Recycling UK.

In 2016 alone, we shredded the equivalent weight of 60 large African elephants, over 360 tonnes of waste paper, which was then sent to be repurposed – enough to produce almost two million toilet rolls.

We collect waste paper from businesses across Yorkshire, and store it securely before our industrial shredders get to work.  In some cases we use our on site shredder and destroy waste directly at a client’s premises, in a secure lorry outside their premises. We can provide locked consoles so all members of staff can safely dispose of paperwork ready for our collection.

In this day and age, it is vitally important that organisations keep on top of data security, and whether that’s financial records, correspondence or simply just a print out of an email, any hard copies must be disposed of responsibly or businesses risk fines of up to £500,000. This doesn’t just apply to businesses like banks or law firms or medical practices – it’s any company, and any data, whether it’s related to customers or employees.

According to the WWF, around 40 per cent of all commercial trees felled worldwide are to satisfy demand for paper. Once virgin fibre papers have fulfilled their primary use, they can be recycled a further four or five times into paper products. After that the cellulose fibres become too short, but they can still have uses in agriculture and construction.

Each time paper is recycled it saves the same quantity going to landfill and producing methane as it breaks down. But in addition, environmental savings are made in terms of CO2 and water, as it takes less energy and water to produce paper from waste paper than it does from wood.
Since the company first began operating, McCarthy’s has sent shredded paper weighing the equivalent of 129 double decker buses to be recycled. That would create 1,059 tonnes of paper towels, saving 18,000 tonnes of wood and a staggering 21.2m gallons of water. That’s enough water to fill 32 Olympic sized swimming pools.

By shredding your waste, not only are you acting responsibly in terms of confidential data, ensuring you stay on the right side of the law, but you’re also doing your bit for the environment. We’ll even provide you with a certificate of destruction to prove it (which can also be useful in terms of your own environmental targets).

It’s odd to think that when you’re using a paper towel it may, only a few days before, before have had all manner of interesting information on it!

For more information about our regular (from once a week to once every other month) and one off shredding services why not get in touch? What better time to do it then World Environment Day?