Shredding is defined as the process of destroying irrelevant information as well as information deemed as sensitive and confidential. The shredder is the machine used in the process of shredding and is commonly seen being used in different settings such as in small home businesses and large business operations. Shredders can destroy all types of information bearing documents including papers, ATM cards, as well as CD's. Besides its obvious purpose of freeing space that can be further utilized, its main important function is for security reasons.
History has it that the first shredder invented-w/c is the paper shredder-was credited to Abbot Augustus Low of Horseshoe in New York in 1901. The "waste paper receptacle", as the shredder was called, though not mass produced, was created by Low to offer an improved method of disposing waste paper. In 1935, the first commercial paper shredder was created based on a hand-crank pasta maker by a German national named Adolf Ehinger. Ehinger initially intended to use the shredder to destroy anti-Nazi documents he carried so as to save his life. Later, though, he marketed the paper shredder and the German Government was among the first to purchase his product.
Shredders nowadays come in different shapes and sizes. The shredders sizes can come from very small electrically powered machines to the manually powered devices to the enormous shredding trucks. Some shredders can easily fit under the tables, desks, and in small corners just like the small capacity personal shredders while some can shred 90-600 sheets of paper in just one pass just like the heavy duty industrial shredders. There are also those shredding trucks that can shred up to 8,000 pounds of paper in just an hour and are commonly used by large companies. Shredders nowadays not only shred paper documented information, even information found in CD's, ATM cards and other non paper items can also be shredded by modern day paper shredders.
As aforementioned, creating more space to accommodate other uses is one of the reasons why paper and cd documents are being destroyed-or shredded. However, this practice of destroying documents is often practiced for various security purposes. Among these is identity theft. A form of cheating another person's identity in order to gain access to resources or benefits in that person's name, identity theft is among the fastest growing consumer crime. As such, proper disposal of documents including personal information and other sensitive data is a fundamental practice in preventing the said crime-hence, the invention of shredders.
Governments were initially the major buyer and user of shredders and it was uncommon to see non-government entities using these machines until the mid-1980s. However, in 1984, following the 1984 Supreme Court decision on the case California vs. Greenwood, when the Fourth Amendment mentioned that it does not prohibit the seizure of garbage kept outside the house for disposal, the market for shredders increased with people ensuring their safety against identity theft. Also, laws against burning and unrestricted landfills also are among the reasons why an increase in the sale of shredders has been observed.
Government is not the only one benefitting from use of shredders but also those constituents of the government. Shredders allow the government to protect its people from identity thieves trying to collect sensitive information through destroying said documents. Thus, it sure is quite an assurance to have a tool that can be used for protection at any time it should be needed.
History has it that the first shredder invented-w/c is the paper shredder-was credited to Abbot Augustus Low of Horseshoe in New York in 1901. The "waste paper receptacle", as the shredder was called, though not mass produced, was created by Low to offer an improved method of disposing waste paper. In 1935, the first commercial paper shredder was created based on a hand-crank pasta maker by a German national named Adolf Ehinger. Ehinger initially intended to use the shredder to destroy anti-Nazi documents he carried so as to save his life. Later, though, he marketed the paper shredder and the German Government was among the first to purchase his product.
Shredders nowadays come in different shapes and sizes. The shredders sizes can come from very small electrically powered machines to the manually powered devices to the enormous shredding trucks. Some shredders can easily fit under the tables, desks, and in small corners just like the small capacity personal shredders while some can shred 90-600 sheets of paper in just one pass just like the heavy duty industrial shredders. There are also those shredding trucks that can shred up to 8,000 pounds of paper in just an hour and are commonly used by large companies. Shredders nowadays not only shred paper documented information, even information found in CD's, ATM cards and other non paper items can also be shredded by modern day paper shredders.
As aforementioned, creating more space to accommodate other uses is one of the reasons why paper and cd documents are being destroyed-or shredded. However, this practice of destroying documents is often practiced for various security purposes. Among these is identity theft. A form of cheating another person's identity in order to gain access to resources or benefits in that person's name, identity theft is among the fastest growing consumer crime. As such, proper disposal of documents including personal information and other sensitive data is a fundamental practice in preventing the said crime-hence, the invention of shredders.
Governments were initially the major buyer and user of shredders and it was uncommon to see non-government entities using these machines until the mid-1980s. However, in 1984, following the 1984 Supreme Court decision on the case California vs. Greenwood, when the Fourth Amendment mentioned that it does not prohibit the seizure of garbage kept outside the house for disposal, the market for shredders increased with people ensuring their safety against identity theft. Also, laws against burning and unrestricted landfills also are among the reasons why an increase in the sale of shredders has been observed.
Government is not the only one benefitting from use of shredders but also those constituents of the government. Shredders allow the government to protect its people from identity thieves trying to collect sensitive information through destroying said documents. Thus, it sure is quite an assurance to have a tool that can be used for protection at any time it should be needed.
About the Author:
Mel is a marketing supervisor in Germany. Since her job involves documents containing their marketing strategies, their department uses the Dahle Schreibtisch Aktenvernichter Cross-Cut to shred the info before discard.
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