Shred-X has its roots firmly planted in promoting the environment and minimising damage to the environment. Shred-X operations were born from the paper recycling industry, its sister company, Australian Paper Recycling focused in paper recovery, and functioned as an agent for the Amcor Paper mill in Brisbane. By adopting the techniques, equipment and culture from its sister company, Shred-X today is able to recover 98.7% of the material it collects of which is then recycled in Australian tissue and paper mills.

 

Although Shred-X contributes very positively to the environment in the way of paper recycling, it is very aware of its own footprint, operating a fleet of over 50 trucks and shredding over 25,000 tonnes of paper each year. Shred-X therefore have developed a company Environmental Policy for our own operations. 

 

 

By utilising the paper recovery and recycling technologies from Australian Paper Recycling, Shred-X are now a major supplier of high grade ‘Sorted Office Pack’ paper to the VISY and AMCOR mills across the country. Bales of shredded paper are processed under strict Quality Controls ensuring minimal risk to the recyclers processes in which recycled shredded paper is actually substituted for virgin pulp. The environmental outcome of this process contributes to the following benefits;

 

• reduced deforestation, reduced energy costs and toxic pollution required by pulping mills the Bureau of International Recycling, found it requires 64% less energy to create paper from recycled product. As most of this energy is sourced from dirty coal fired electricity generators, huge savings in CO2e are enjoyed. 

• 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution to make paper using this method, an important saving in one of the driest continents. 

 

 

With the world focussed on climate change, Shred-X went a step further with their environmental management plan. In order to accurately and legally quantify greenhouse gas emissions and identify actions to reduce our carbon emissions (CO2e) footprint, Shred-X commissioned Ecofund, an independent carbon advisor, to measure the greenhouse emissions of the Shred-X Secure Destruction Facilities and Vehicles in Queensland and Victoria. A report was produced that provides an assessment of the GHG emissions associated with the collection, transportation, shredding and baling of sensitive documents.

 

The report found that although Shred-X emitted 0.064 tCO2e per tonne of paper in collection, transportation and shredding, a saving of 2.52 tCO2e per tonne of paper was saved by allowing the paper to be re-used as a virgin pulp substitute thus avoiding landfill. The net result was an overall saving of 2.46 tC02e per tonne of paper shredded. 

 

As a result, Shred-X clients receive certified quantitative environmental reports (Shred-X Environmental Impact Statements) that detail the environmental savings they have contributed through using the Shred-X service. Every tonne of paper recycled has a significant positive impact on our environment. 

 

 

As part of Shred-X’s ongoing commitment to its Environmental management plan, Shred-X have continually improved transport and processing methods and procedures. Shred-X has begun introducing a new generation of Secure Collection trucks that replace heavier, less efficient traditional compaction trucks. The new Walking Floor vehicle uses less fuel, generates fewer emissions yet has greater carrying capacity than those currently used throughout the industry. The secure destruction industry is currently dependent on two types of vehicles: modified garbage compactor trucks and pantech trucks.

It is intended that these new purpose built trucks will replace both types of trucks currently used, which will represent a 37% saving (measured against existing fleet) in fuel use and therefore carbon emissions, as well as taking a total of 25% of the current fleet off the roads and reducing traffic congestion. Some of these savings will be passed on to customers, Shred-X estimates this could be as high as a 10% in customer savings. The new trucks are additionally equipped with weight scales, RFID readers and GPS tracking and a Shred-X software application that captures the data in real time. The data captured at every site includes, weight, number of containers cleared, date and time and address which will be used for customer reporting purposes.

 

 

Shred-X have discounted their Set Schedule services to reward customers to move away from ad-hoc services. Set scheduling allows for greater route planning efficiencies, reducing the time that every truck spends on the road thereby further reducing CO2e. Shred-X are able to reduce the time spent by the transporter on our roads by 27% using this program.

 

The new Walking Floor trucks will allow cost savings as well as environmental savings. To encourage their use, some of the cost savings will be passed back to the customers. It is anticipated that customers will enjoy a 10% service cost saving.

 

As part of the detailed environmental reporting performed by Shred-X for its customers, Shred-X does offer a rebate incentive scheme that rewards customers for every tonne of CO2 saved by Shred-X performing their secure collections and shredding in its destruction facilities. Rebates are governed by virgin pulp prices for which the high grade shredded product is substituted.

 

 

Shred-X provide educational training to their customers aimed at informing organisations and agencies of the dangers of sentencing their paper documents to mixed waste. Almost all paper deposited in waste and comingle waste collections finds its way to landfill sites. All this paper ends up in landfill causing more Green House Gas emissions and generates larger volumes of methane.

 

Shred-X also provide videos and posters to help recover greater volumes of office paper as well as continuing to provide unsecure paper recycling only services for office paper deemed as non-confidential. 

 

 

Shred-X have sourced latest shredding and paper recovery technologies for its new secure destruction facility in Sydney. By taking advantage of technologies such as ’soft start’ motors, self-sharpening shredders, and focusing on reducing power consumption, Shred-X are confident of demonstrating significant reductions in CO2e generated in their new Sydney facility. Sydney also represents our first ICT media destruction facility. Again, with an emphasis on environmental awareness, basic recyclable materials are separated and after secure destruction, recycled by metal recyclers in Australia.

 

The original Queensland Destruction facility has been equipped with equipment to improve paper recovery from palletised archive records. Traditionally a source of high contamination, Shred-X have developed equipment and techniques with great success, increasing recyclable content from 62% to 84%.

 

 

Shred-X prides itself on its image and presentation, and an important part of that image are its trucks. Keeping trucks clean requires water use and generates oil residue which is harmful to the environment. To this end Shred-X has built fully recyclable water treatment plants as part of truck wash bays. Rainwater is captured from the large destruction plant rooftops, and stored in large underground tanks. The water used in the truck-wash bays is again recaptured, filtered and reused in the tanks. Filtered residue consists of dirt and oil which is also separated and disposed of as required by governing EPA laws.

 

Shred-X also incorporates its own mechanical workshops. Many of the trucks carry hundreds of litres of hydraulic oils as well as the regular oil therefore handling oil and preventing oil spills is a high risk to the environment. All trucks are equipped with oil spill kits that absorb oils as well as equipment to prevent oil escaping down stormwater drains. All Shred-X mechanical workshops incorporate oil recycling services, in which all oils gathered from oil changes and wash downs is recycled into other reusable lubricants.