What Shred-It does

Shred-it, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Oakville, Canada, is a North American secure document and data destruction service provider operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stericycle, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRCL) since 2020. The company's core offering is NAID AAA-certified paper shredding delivered through two primary commercial models: a one-time transactional service (volume-based pricing with minimum order thresholds and promotional discounts) and a recurring scheduled subscription called ProtectPLUS, available in Basic, Preferred, and Platinum tiers. Shred-it supplements paper shredding with hard drive shearing and crushing, optical media destruction, and specialty item destruction (uniforms, badges, x-rays, branded goods), all backed by GPS-tracked fleet vehicles, locked chain-of-custody containers, 24/7 monitored facilities, and post-service Proof of Service documentation.

Underlying technology centers on industrial-grade cross-cut shredding equipment that reduces paper to NAID-compliant particle sizes, with mobile trucks capable of processing 5,000+ pounds of paper per hour. On-site mobile shredding enables customer-witnessed destruction, while off-site plant-based shredding and 100+ drop-off locations provide alternative fulfillment channels. Service quality is anchored by NAID AAA certification held continuously for over 20 years across both mobile/on-site and plant-based operations.

Shred-it monetizes across diversified customer segments — Healthcare, Finance & Banking, Legal, Insurance, Real Estate, Enterprise National Accounts, SMB, and Residential — through a multi-channel go-to-market combining direct field sales, inside sales call centers, a self-serve e-commerce platform, retail-style drop-off locations, and community shred events. The company operates in 9 countries (US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany), services 400,000+ customers, and recycled 906 million pounds of paper in 2023 alone, making it the largest paper shredding fleet and service footprint in North America by its own market positioning.

Name

Shred-It

Legal name

Stericycle, Inc.

Website

https://shredit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Shred-it is a North American secure document and data destruction service provider, wholly-owned by Stericycle (NASDAQ: SRCL), serving 400,000+ healthcare, financial, legal, and enterprise customers across 9 countries via scheduled shredding subscriptions, one-time purges, hard drive destruction, and NAID AAA-certified chain-of-custody processes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Document Destruction Services

NAICS

Remediation and Other Waste Management Services (5629)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Confidential Document & Media Destruction (On-site Shredding Programs) (BPABALAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Confidential Document Destruction & Secure Recycling (Shredding) (IMAIAFAO), Data Destruction Services (On-site/Off-site, Media Sanitization) (BPALAIAC)

Keywords

• Document destruction services
• Paper shredding services
• Secure shredding
• Hard drive destruction
• Information security services

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakville

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices39 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. One-Time Paper Shredding: One-time fee-based service for bulk paper purges and clean-outs. Pricing based on volume and container type. No fixed-term contract or monthly payments required. Volume discounts available - cost per box decreases as volume increases.
2. Scheduled Shredding (ProtectPLUS): Recurring subscription-based paper shredding service with subscription billing for predictable budget management. Includes access to privacy policies, security training, and compliance resources. Service levels: Basic, Preferred, and Platinum tiers with varying features.
3. Hard Drive Destruction: One-time or recurring hard drive and electronic media destruction services. Flexible scheduling with nationwide presence. Pricing based on volume and location.
4. Product & Specialty Destruction: Secure destruction of specialty items including uniforms, badges, branded goods, x-rays, and other proprietary materials. Customized quotes based on quantity, item type, and location.
5. Drop-off Shredding: Convenient drop-off service at locations across North America. Transparent prepaid pricing model with upfront costs (e.g., $75 per 96-gallon tote).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Shred-it provides secure document and data destruction services for businesses, organizations, and individuals across North America and internationally. Core offerings include one-time bulk paper shredding, recurring scheduled shredding under the ProtectPLUS program, on-site mobile shredding, drop-off shredding, hard drive and electronic media destruction, and specialty item destruction. All services operate under NAID AAA-certified chain-of-custody protocols with cross-cut shredding technology, GPS-tracked vehicles, and Proof of Service certificates for compliance documentation.

Product overview

Shred-it is a secure document and data destruction service provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of destruction services. The core offering consists of document shredding through two main delivery models: one-time purge shredding and recurring scheduled shredding via the ProtectPLUS program. ProtectPLUS is offered in three service tiers (Platinum, Preferred, Basic) providing escalating levels of compliance resources, training, and account management features. Supporting services include hard drive and electronic media destruction, product and specialty item destruction, mobile on-site shredding, drop-off locations, and community shred events. All services follow NAID AAA-certified chain-of-custody protocols with locked containers, GPS-tracked vehicles, and Proof of Service documentation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ProtectPLUS: A scheduled shredding service tier that includes access to privacy policies, security training, and resources for ongoing information protection.

Products and services

• One-Time Paper Shredding One-time bulk document shredding service for purging large volumes of confidential paper documents. Includes on-site and off-site options, express 2-day or 5-day service, and no long-term contracts required. Designed for businesses or individuals that need to clear out large volumes of sensitive documents at once.
• ProtectPLUS Scheduled Shredding Recurring scheduled paper shredding subscription service with secure containers and ongoing pickups, paired with compliance resources, privacy policy templates, and employee training modules. Available in Basic, Preferred, and Platinum tiers, each adding more comprehensive training, policy templates, and customer portal features. Aimed at organizations with ongoing document destruction needs.
• Hard Drive & Electronic Media Destruction Physical destruction of hard drives and electronic media including USB drives, flash drives, CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, magnetic backup tapes, zip disks, and floppy disks. Uses proprietary shearing (40,000 lbs of force) or crushing (7,500 lbs of force) methods to render data completely irrecoverable. Available as one-time or recurring service with Proof of Service documentation, and targeted at organizations that must securely dispose of ePHI and other digital records.
• Product & Specialty Destruction Secure destruction of specialty items including branded goods, uniforms, ID badges, building entry cards, x-rays, prescription pill bottles, and other proprietary materials. Customized quotes are provided based on quantity, item type, and location, helping organizations protect brand integrity and prevent unauthorized use of confidential or trademarked items.
• Mobile On-Site Paper Shredding On-site document shredding service where a Customer Security Representative shreds confidential documents at the customer's location using a specially designed shredding truck. Customers can witness the destruction process for chain-of-custody assurance, and mobile trucks can shred more than 5,000 pounds of paper per hour.
• Drop-Off Paper Shredding Convenient drop-off document shredding service at over 100 North American locations. Customers prepay online and drop off documents at participating branches, with transparent unit pricing at $75 per 96-gallon tote (approximately 10-12 letter-size boxes). Suited for small businesses and individuals needing affordable, no-contract secure shredding.
• Residential Paper Shredding Professional shredding for personal documents including bank statements, tax returns, utility bills, medical records, and work-from-home paperwork. Available with curb-side pickup or drop-off options for individuals and remote workers seeking identity-theft protection without a home office shredder.
• Community Shred Events Community-based shredding events hosted by local Shred-it branches or sponsored by community agencies, offering free or fee-based document destruction to raise awareness about identity theft and fraud prevention. Functions as both a community service and a top-of-funnel customer acquisition channel.

Quantifiable outcome

• 906 million pounds of paper recycled in 2023
• +4 more outcomes

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Tony HawkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerShred-it partnered with skateboarding legend Tony Hawk to leverage shared 'shredding' expertise. Tony Hawk and Shred-it both have long-standing reputations as top performers in their respective fields, and the partnership aims to promote secure shredding services through shared brand messaging.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Iron Mountain: Iron Mountain is the most direct competitor to Shred-it, offering secure document destruction (via its Shred-it rival Recall business and Secure Shredding service), hard drive destruction, and records management globally. Both companies serve regulated enterprises (healthcare, finance, legal) with NAID-certified chain-of-custody protocols and recurring service contracts.
• ProShred: ProShred is a direct on-site mobile shredding competitor with a North American franchise model, offering paper shredding, hard drive destruction, and product destruction services. It competes head-to-head with Shred-it for enterprise contracts emphasizing NAID AAA-certified on-site destruction.
• Blue-Pencil: Blue-Pencil is a Canadian secure shredding and records management provider with NAID AAA certification, directly comparable to Shred-it in the Canadian market. It serves similar customer segments (healthcare, legal, financial) with on-site and drop-off shredding services.
• DataShield: DataShield is a regional Midwest-based secure shredding and records storage provider offering NAID AAA-certified document and hard drive destruction. Comparable service portfolio and target customers, but with much smaller geographic reach than Shred-it.
• SecurShred: SecurShred is a NAID AAA-certified mobile shredding operator in the US Midwest, offering on-site paper shredding and hard drive destruction. Comparable in service scope and certification credentials, with a more limited regional footprint than Shred-it.
• National Document Shredding: National Document Shredding is a smaller NAID-certified shredding provider offering recurring and one-time paper shredding services across multiple US regions. It competes with Shred-it for mid-market and SMB customers seeking cost-effective certified shredding.

Broad incumbents

• Cintas: Cintas is a broad business services incumbent offering document shredding and destruction alongside its core uniform, first aid, and facility services portfolio. Comparable because it serves multi-location enterprises with bundled service contracts, though shredding is a smaller line within a much wider offering.

Regional players

• Gilmore Services: Gilmore Services is a regional document destruction and records management provider operating primarily in the Mid-Atlantic US. Comparable as a same-service offering focused on secure paper and media destruction, but with a smaller geographic footprint than Shred-it.
• Corodata: Corodata is a regional records management and shredding services provider on the US West Coast, offering scheduled shredding, one-time purges, and hard drive destruction. Comparable service mix to Shred-it, but limited geographic coverage and smaller customer base.

Emerging players

• Shred Nations: Shred Nations is an aggregator/marketplace connecting customers with local shredding service providers across the US. It is comparable to Shred-it as a customer-acquisition channel for on-demand shredding services, though it operates a broker model rather than owning its own fleet.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shredit
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ShreditTV/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/shredit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/12628

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shred-It