Company employees, visitors, suppliers, building maintenance and cleaning people - even security guards are all possible sources of information leaks. People in all of these categories have been known to sell information gleaned from the trash. Even the employees of trash removal firms have made extra money by selling specific trash. Disgruntled employees or those with drug or mental problems can pose a significant risk to information assets. By destroying excess and obsolete documents, the remaining important ones can be properly maintained and organized for efficient storage and retrieval.
Some shredders even have the capacity to shred binders and corrugated boxes with their contents.
Capacity is usually the most important single factor in selecting equipment. Higher capacity machines provide higher actual throughput even though they may operate at slower speeds. Shredders that handle larger capacities also tend to produce more compact waste, even in strip cuts. Motors range from fractional to 100 horsepower. Shredder speeds range from 5 to 100 feet per minute.