What Happens to Your Paper After Shredding?
Updated: Sep 1
We get asked this a lot: once your confidential documents go into the shredder, what actually happens to them next?
At Highlander, we recycle 100% of the paper we collect. Here's exactly what happens to shredded paper, from your office or home right through to its transformation into a new paper product.
Step 1: Collection
We collect your paper for shredding from offices and homes across Scotland. This is typically good-quality white paper — invoices, letters, bank statements and bills. We always advise shredding documents like these because they contain sensitive or personal information.
Step 2: Secure Destruction
All collected paper is returned to our secure destruction centre and shredded within 24 hours of collection, keeping your confidential information safe right up to the point of destruction.
Step 3: Baling
Once shredded, the paper is compacted and secured into large bales ready for transport.
Step 4: Recycling Into New Products
The bales are sent to paper mills across the UK and Europe, where the shredded paper is pulped and used to manufacture new paper products, including:
Paper for the publishing industry
Recycled writing and wrapping paper
Luxury tissue products
So nothing goes to landfill — every sheet you shred is given a second life as something new.
Why Shredding Paper Helps Recycling
Shredding doesn't just protect your data; it also makes the recycling process more efficient. Manufacturing paper from recycled materials uses 70% less energy than making it from raw materials, and recycling just one tonne of paper saves 17 trees.
What About Cardboard?
Paper isn't the only material we recycle. If your business also generates cardboard waste like packaging, boxes or delivery materials, this can be collected and recycled alongside your paper. Find out more on our Paper & Cardboard Recycling page.
Get in Touch
If you'd like to find out more about our paper shredding services and how we handle your confidential waste from collection through to recycling, get in touch with the Highlander team today.
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