How Is Shredding Different From Recycling?

Many people don’t know the difference between shredding vs recycling. Some, think that it is all the same but it’s not! There are a lot of key differences between the two you should know about and it could end up saving you time, money and the possibility of being a victim of Identity theft.

So what is shredding vs recycling?

When shredding, only paper is being shredded and then taken to a processing facility to be recycled. This is the difference with shredding vs recycling!

How many people are effected by identity theft?

According to Experian, in 2018 there was a total of 1,579 data breaches exposing nearly 179 million records! The most common is credit card fraud, with government documents and/or benefits fraud being the least.

It’s no secret that most fraud happens online or over the telephone but there are few cases that happen due to the improper destruction of certain documents.

Why shredding is NOT the same as recycling!

Paper that is sent to shredding are things that are confidential. These are things such as forms with social security numbers, tax ID numbers, credit card information, etc. Those are items that would need to be shredded.

Recycling paper is not the same as shredding paper. Paper that is sent to recycling is not confidential. These are things like magazines, newspapers, extra copies of non confidential documents you no longer need, etc.

Based on the chart below, how many of these do you think could be prevented if items such as bank account statements, credit card statements or even old tax filings would’ve been shredded instead of thrown away or recycled?

How does Access Records Management Work?

Access Records Management has shredding services for the public and for businesses. For the public, we offer drop off shredding. You can come to us and drop off your items you want shred. We will put it in a bin and lock it in front of you until it is ready for shredding!

For businesses we offer pick up shredding. We will supply the bin and drop it off at your business. You can either have an ongoing pickup or we can do a one time pickup. We would then take your bin and/or boxes back to our facility for shredding.

We will also provide a certificate of destruction so you won’t have to worry about your secure documents in the wrong hands!

If this sounds like something your company may need and you want to avoid fraud at all cost, give us a call! We’ll be happy to help you with your shredding needs or you can check out our recycling company Business Recycling Solutions, if you’re more interested in recycling!

IRS Scam Calls, Here Again!

April is right around the corner and so are the IRS scam calls! Have you started receiving them yet? If you didn’t know already, it’s usually not the actual IRS!

How can you spot the IRS scam calls lie?

Typically the calls are automated but there have been live people who call as well saying something along the lines of,

“this is to inform you that the IRS is filing lawsuit against you.  For more information on this case file please call our department number at xxx-xxx-xxxx.  Thank you.”

Scammers main goals are to scare you! You don’t really owe money, the IRS is not filing a law suit against you and you do NOT need to pay over the phone or send money in the mail!

6 Things the Real IRS Would NEVER Do!

According to the IRS there are a few things to take note of to determine if it is and IRS scam call or not.

  1. The IRS would NEVER call to demand payment immediately over the phone.
  2. They would NEVER call about taxes owed without mailing you a bill first.
  3. They wouldn’t demand tax payment without giving you a chance to appeal the amount.
  4. The IRS would NEVER ask for debit or credit card payment over the phone!
  5. The IRS would also NEVER threaten to call the police or other law enforcement for nonpayment.

What do you do if you get a scam call?

  • You can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to determine if you actually owe money! If you can’t tell whether or not the call is fake, you can call the IRS and figure out if you actually owe anything.
  • You can also report the scam callers to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your report.
  • If you’re getting emails about taxes and suspect it’s a scam, forward the email to phishing@irs.gov. Then delete it. DO NOT OPEN IT.

5 Reasons to Love Professional Shred Services

We want to share the love this Valentine’s Day and tell you five reasons you’ll love professional shred services!

1. Professional shred services can save you a lot of time so you can focus on things you love!

No one loves to sit in an uncomfortable chair shredding five papers at a time! Not only is this time consuming, it’s boring. When you have documents professionally shredded, the only thing you’ll need to do is lift your finger to point out where the documents you want shredded are!

2. The more, the better.

If you have a personal shredder at home, you’re probably keeping up with the documents you need shredded at least once a month right? If not, it makes it harder to shred a bulk amount of documents.

With professional shred services, we can take as much or as little shred you want! Whether you have 1-100 boxes needing shred, we can handle it.

3. Better security and your customers will love you for it!

How many times have we seen on the news that a company had a breech in security? How many times have we heard of identity theft in certain companies?

When you have professional shred services, the liability transfers from you to us! You and your customers will be able to breathe knowing that their information is safe and in the hands of a professional.

You can also research how small certain companies shred their paper. The smaller, the more secure.

4. It’s more sustainable, so your eco-friendly customers will be pleased!

If you didn’t know, all professional shred companies recycle their paper after it’s been shredded!

Usually if you shred at home, you’re throwing the shred away afterwards. When you shred professionally, all of the shred is recycled after, making it more eco-friendly!

5. One less thing on your to-do list.

This can make it easier on you to have a productive day or maybe even your employees!

Instead of paying employees to shred documents for hours, you can pay them to do other productive work during those hours and have a shred company pick up those documents.


Access Records Management takes pride in making sure your documents are secure! Click here to see how our document destruction service works or call 816-331-7200 for more information!

Shred Stories | Famous Artwork Destroyed at Auction

Banksy, an England-based Artist, shred one of his most famous works of art as soon as it was SOLD at an auction!

Can you imagine spending $1.8 million for a piece of art, then watch it shred before your eyes? Well, that’s pretty much what happened here! They are now saying because of the event, the painting may now be worth more. It has even become a hit this Halloween season, check out a few of the costumes below!

My friend needed a last minute Halloween costume – I think I delivered! from pics

I think it’s safe to say that this was a night no one will ever forget! Check out the video below to see the picture shred.

National S’mores Day! | Storage Tip

It’s National S’mores Day!

We’ve never been more excited, since s’mores are one of the best combinations invented. Wouldn’t it be even better if we could make it last forever? Today we’re going to give you a few tips on how to store your s’mores ingredients so they can last longer for great tasting s’mores!

How To Store Marshmallows

The best part of s’mores are the marshmallows! Nobody likes hard and stale marshmallows, especially not on our s’mores.

1. Bread

According to WikiHow, adding one or two fresh pieces of bread to an open package of marshmallows helps keep them softer longer.

2. Freeze Them

Of course you can freeze them but they definitely wouldn’t be as soft as they are fresh out of the package.

3. Refrigerate

Sprinkling powdered sugar over marshmallows in an airtight container in the fridge is a great way to store marshmallows! It keeps the marshmallows moisture free and soft.

 

How To Store Chocolate

1. Keep Out of Direct Sunlight

This is no surprise unless you love the taste of melted chocolate.

2. Don’t Store In the Refrigerator

Even though the refrigerator is a cool, dark place. Chocolate can absorb the flavor of it’s surroundings. Unless spaghetti flavored chocolate is your thing, keep it out of the fridge!

3. Seal In Airtight Container

If you do decide to store them in the refrigerator, seal the chocolate in an air tight container and it will be as if you just opened the wrapper.

How To Store Graham Crackers

1. Cool Dark Place

Graham crackers are the easiest to store and can keep for 2-3 years in the cabinet. If your cabinet is cool, dry and dark, then it is your graham crackers best friend!

 

We hope you enjoyed our awesome storage tips in honor of National S’mores Day! Go get the fire started!

 

Recycle at Work? Now it’s easy!

Access Records Management has done it again. We are now offering a solution for small to medium sized businesses that have a desire to recycle. Up until now the only 2 options for business to recycle are

1. get a six yard dumpster in your parking lot from your local trash company that will pick it up for you weekly, and bill you, regardless of how full it is, or

  1. Sort it yourself. Gather it all up. Put it in your car and drive to the recycling center.

Most small to medium sized businesses don’t recycle at all because neither of those two options mentioned above are cost effective or easy. Well, not anymore. Access Records Management has expanded its services and now offers “Business Recycling Solutions”

Business Recycling Solutions offers 2 different size bins to fit your needs. We have a 64 Gallon Recycle bin and a 96 Gallon Recycle Bin. Either size bin can be picked up weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Whatever fits your needs the best. These recycle bins will go directly in a break room area and employees can co-mingle all the recycling material into that bin. We will place a guide on the bin that shows all approved materials such as, hard plastics, cardboard, aluminum and paper. When it’s time for a pick up, Business Recycling Solutions will come directly to your break room, take the full recycle bin, and replace it with an empty one. You can’t get much easier than that!

You can get a 64 Gallon recycle bin for $25 per pick up or the 96 Gallon recycle bin is $30 per pick up.

Call 816-331-7200 to get a recycling bin placed in your office today.

Are you considering purchasing a PACS… Now What?

Are you considering purchasing a PACS... Now What?It’s year end & the accountant has recommended that you purchase a piece of equipment to off-set the taxes. You’re a busy medical practice who shoots lots of X-rays, so why not get rid of the old analog film machine & go with a new digital PACS.(Picture Archiving and Communication System) Electronic Images and reports are transmitted digitally via PACS; this eliminates the need to manually file, retrieve, or transport film jackets which saves labor, time, and headaches.

Four reasons to choose PACS over an analog x- ray film system:

Hard Copy Replacement: Managing hard copy medical images now becomes much quicker, & convenient. That old film archive room can go away and be repurposed into a revenue generating space. Access Records Management can digitize that x- ray film and those electronic images can be stored in your PACS. We also offer offsite storage & management of your outdated film that may not be cost effective to convert to digital.

Remote Access: Do any of your clinics Doctors need remote access to the film images? With a PACS system, authorized personnel with login credentials can view the electronic images remotely.

Electronic Image Integration Platform: PACS provides the electronic platform for captured radiology images interfacing with other medical systems such as: EHR(Electronic Health Records) HIS(Hospital Information System) RIS(Radiology Information System) and Practice Management Software. Access Records Management offers a variety of cloud solutions that will complement your PACS investment.

Radiology Workflow Management: PACS is used by your medical staff to manage the workflow of patient exams. Improved patient workflow equals happier patients getting in and out of the doctor’s office in a timely manner.

Call Access Records Management today if you are needing analog film converted to digital. Our experienced staff will make sure your x ray film conversion stays on budget and gets completed in a timely matter. (816)331-7200.

How to Work Smarter – Not Harder

Once upon a time there was a very busy office manager, named Jamie, who was always leaving work late and felt guilty about missing out on that time with her family.

Every day she was overwhelmed putting out fires, solving other people’s problems, and finding lost paperwork. All while trying to remain compliant with all of the company’s policies/procedures. She never realized that just keeping corporate paperwork up to standard requirements could take so much time.

One Saturday afternoon she was at a friend’s birthday party, when she overheard someone who had overcome the same problems she had at work by “going digital.” Jamie and her new friend talked at length about how much easier it was for her to find files electronically instead of shuffling papers all day long. No more losing paper records! Jamie was amazed when she heard how fast the scanning process of the files got completed. As they talked over potato salad, she realized that she was working harder, not smarter. She was determined to find a company to help her get back some sense of control over her job and her priorities.

She started searching the internet on Monday morning and was introduced to lots of companies that can scan paper documents and convert them to digital format.

When she found Access Records Management of Kansas City, she knew it was the best option to help her organize her office and be more efficient than she could ever imagine. They worked with her busy schedule to convert her paper charts into digital format. Access Records suggested they OCR (Optical Character Resolution) all her newly converted digital records so they would be fully searchable. Wow!  Never knew that was even possible! They even helped her    upload the encrypted electronic file onto her ECM(Electronic Content Management) system.

Within three weeks, she gained 10 hours a week that she was wasting before. She was less stressed out at work, which meant she got home at a decent hour and was able to relax with her family. That family time allowed her to truly relax and come back to work refreshed and more productive.

To learn more, please contact Stacie with Access Records at 816.331.7200.