This service is offered to staff for the disposal of waste too sensitive for the general waste stream. The disposal of confidential waste places significant demand on resources so producers are requested to carefully consider their use of this service to ensure it is not used for general waste or waste paper disposal. We only accept confidential paper waste in the bags provided, e.g. exam papers, personal records etc. Whilst this service is purely for paper waste, some other waste types of a confidential nature can be disposed of by arrangement, e.g. electronic storage devices such as discs, flash drives, or tapes.
Please contact the Maintenance Helpdesk on extension 4036 or email fmhelp@stmarys.ac.uk if you require assistance with destruction of non-paper confidential waste. We do not accept files, books, ring binders, plastic inserts, or wall charts in the paper shredding sacks.
The waste should be placed in a ‘confidential’ security shredding sack, (provided on request), and secured prior to collection/removal. You can secure your sack with cable/zip ties.
Sacks and ties can be requested using the online request form with zero entered where you have no sacks to collect. The sack weight should not exceed that which can be reasonably be carried by one person and never more than 20kg. If your waste exceeds this weight please request a second sack using the online request form.
In presenting the waste for disposal the producer is understood to have retained their own records of the contents. Once collected for disposal you will not be able to retrieve anything disposed of in error.
The cost of this service is not currently charged back to your department, however it may incur a fee of £8.30 per sack in some circumstances such as for substantial collection demands or should the cost of third-party secure destruction services increase. This will be charged to your department at the discretion of the service manager and a budget code will be required when making a request.
How to make a request
Please complete the online request form to make a new Confidential Waste Collection request. Your request will be processed by the Maintenance Helpdesk and we will endeavour to fulfill all requests within 10 working days.
Q. What types of material can I put in the confidential waste sack?
The contents are recycled once shredded so, paper of the same type you would put in a paper recycling bank. Please avoid laminates, hard bindings, folders etc.
Q. Do I need to remove staples before placing paper in the confidential waste sack?
No, there is no need to do this with your confidential waste or any other paper recycling at St Mary's.
Q. How much paper can I put in each sack?
For Health and Safety reasons please keep the weight of each sack to a level which can be carried by one person but not more than 20kg. If you have more paper than this, please order an additional sack.
Q. How many sacks can I have?
There is no limit to how many sacks can be provided subject to availability and storage capacity whilst they await destruction. The sacks are the property of the third-party destruction service and you should therefore only retain reasonable numbers for imminent use.
Q. When will my sacks be collected?
You will need to be able to store your sacks of confidential waste until collection takes place by a member of the Grounds Team so you should ensure you have adequate space and request low numbers more frequently rather than high volumes less often.
Collection of sacks is fitted in around the core duties of the waste and recycling operatives emptying external waste bins which take priority.
Q. Is this service secure?
Once collected, sacks are stored in locked storage until adequate volume is met that the third-party destruction service collect and remove them for shredding in a secure manner. Operatives may access your locked room/office for collection unless you specify that they should not during your job request. Do not leave sacks in unsecure areas such as corridors and stairwells whilst awaiting collection as in line with the St Mary's University Data Protection Policy.
Q. My office is not on the main campus, how can I utilise this service?
If you have limited use you can collect sacks by prior arrangement from the campus. Collection can be arranged with Campus Services who will return return the sacks to the storage area on campus t await collection for destruction. Please contact the Maintenance Helpdesk at fmhelp@stmarys.ac.uk or Campus Services directly at campusservices@stmarys.ac.uk for these services. Users with significant regular volume can arrange a direct service with the contractor providing the destruction service.