Selecting Classified Paper Shredders

Large government agencies like the Pentagon have the luxury of discarding their confidential files and consumer documents into an incinerator.  For most businesses an onsite incinerator is not a viable option. 

The Department of Defense (DOD) requires that classified paper shredders reduce the documents to pieces no larger than 1/32" x 1/2", while top secret documents are usually required to be shredded to 1/32" x 7/16".

The European standards as defined by the DIN standard categorize six levels of shredding from general to highly classified documents.  According to these requirements, level one through level three pertain to the shredding of general paperwork, non-secure documents and confidential records respectively.  All the first three levels allow for the use of strip cutting shredders, where the level three confidential documents are to be cut into approximately 2 mm strips.  Levels four through six require increasingly more security, and requires the use of a crosscut shredder. Level four addresses secret documents, that are recommended to be shred into approximately 2 mm x 15 mm strips.  Level five is for extremely sensitive classified documents and requires shredding to  approximately 0.8 mm x 11 mm.  The most sensitive level 6 documents call for shredding to approximately 0.8 mm x 4 mm size confetti.  With every inch equaling 25.4 mm, you can see that classified documents call for approximately  1/32" X 5/32" pieces. 

This level of shredding is expensive, but warranted for extremely sensitive information.  For more information please see our heavy duty paper shredders.