Confidential waste is paper or electronic media you no longer need that still holds personal information or sensitive business details, such as payslips, client files, bank statements or old hard drives. It has to be destroyed so it can’t be read or pieced back together, usually by cross-cut shredding, pulping or a specialist destruction service, rather than going out with ordinary rubbish or recycling.
The duty behind it
A business holding personal data must keep it “for no longer than is necessary” and handle it “in a way that ensures appropriate security”, under the UK GDPR as summarised by GOV.UK. Careless disposal undoes all the care taken while the records were kept. How long to keep a record first is records retention; confidential waste is what’s left when that period ends.
When a firm takes it away, GOV.UK’s business waste guidance says to check the carrier is registered and to complete a waste transfer note. A good destruction firm will also give you a certificate of destruction.
At Wigwam
Your unit is a secure place to keep records until their time is up. Every unit has its own alarm, the outside doors have access control, and our sites are covered by CCTV monitored around the clock by a professional monitoring company.
When boxes are due to go, book a confidential shredding firm, as we don’t shred documents ourselves. You or a colleague you’ve shared access with can meet the firm at your unit. Our sites don’t have bins, and waste can’t be left on site or in your unit, so arrange the collection for a time you’re there, or take the boxes back with you.
If you’re clearing a relative’s papers, bank statements and letters still carry personal details, so shred them rather than recycling them whole, after checking with the executor or solicitor what needs to be kept.
Call us on 0800 2545585 to talk about storing your records.
Related terms
Related questions
Our document storage page explains how a unit works for records, or call us on 0800 2545585 to talk about storing them.
- GOV.UK: Data protection
- GOV.UK: Managing your waste: an overview