Iron Mountain, Comerica Bank set shredding record

Iron Mountain and Comerica Bank recently helped set a Guinness World Record at their Shred Day DFW, held at Comerica's Mockingbird Service Center in Dallas on Saturday April 14. The two companies set the mark for most paper collected during a 24-hour period. It was the second Guinness World Record said by Iron Mountain.

The public paper shredding event had one primary goal - to raise awareness about the importance of identity protection, sustainability and shredding's role in those efforts. This purpose was achieved, but along the way, 111,920 pounds of paper was collected, outpacing the previous record by more than 12 tons.

All of the paper collected during the event is being securely shredded and recycled by Iron Mountain.

Michael Gordon, vice president of operations for Iron Mountain, explained that the shredding event, though aimed at consumers, spreads the same data protection message for businesses as well.

"Shredding paper records, especially those that contain personal information like Social Security numbers, can help prevent identity theft for businesses and consumers alike. We're thrilled that we could participate in such a cool record-breaking event, educate our community on these benefits and also help the environment," said Gordon.

The event was attended by an official representative of the Guinness World Records organization, ensuring that the amount of paper collected was enough to break the record.

Paper shredding is rising in importance from a data protection and sustainability point of view. Organizations tend to keep plenty of paper records and have lots of paper with sensitive data lying around. Secure shredding is integral to safeguarding this information. It is also key to shred in a sustainable way, recycling paper instead of dumping it into the trash. As businesses use the impending Earth Day event to consider how they can function more sustainably, shredding and recycling should be considered.