Marketing

Destroying promotional material and old business cards

15 May 2026 · 7 min read · DeSnipperaar

With every house-style change, merger, rebrand or staff change, piles of leftover material build up. A box of business cards from a colleague who left two years ago, old flyers with the wrong phone number, banners from a 2019 event, a carton of gift packaging in the old colours. What do you do with it? Throwing it in the paper bin is usually enough for paper recycling, but for brand protection it is sometimes too sloppy. A short guide to when destruction needs to be taken seriously.

Three kinds of brand damage to avoid

1. Wrong information in circulation. A business card from a departed colleague labelled "director" can resurface through unexpected channels. A prospect ends up unsure who the contact is.
2. Old house style alive alongside the new one. Customers see the same organisation in two guises; confusion about rebrand status.
3. Incorrect claims, prices or disclaimers. Flyers in which a product is still "NEW", prices that no longer apply, phone numbers that no longer work.

None of these directly damage trust, but together they give the brand a scruffy impression. For B2B clients in advisory and accountancy sectors it can sow doubt about quality of delivery.

What really belongs in destruction?

• Business cards from departed colleagues or in old house style.
• Letterheads and envelopes with old logo or incorrect address.
• Flyers, brochures, leaflets with expired offers or past seasonal campaigns.
• Branded premiums: printed pens, USB sticks (note: USB sticks are data media!), powerbanks, stress balls.
• Banners and display material from events.
• Product packaging in retired colours or design.
• Press kits with personal photos of departed staff.

Paper shredder or not?

For paper-based material (business cards, flyers, brochures, letterhead) everything goes through our mobile cross-cut shredder at DIN P-5. For non-paper items it depends on the material:

• Printed plastic pens, keyrings: through a separate shredder or by breaking into pieces.
• Printed USB sticks: treat as hardware with data, so DIN E level.
• Banners (PVC or textile): cut into pieces or send to a separate fabric shredder.
• Carton displays: goes in the paper stream.

For business cards P-3 or P-4 is enough. It is about brand-damage prevention, not data-breach prevention.

Personal data? Sometimes yes

Business cards look innocuous, but they contain name, job title, phone, email and sometimes mobile number. Under the GDPR these are personal data. A large stack of business cards from departed colleagues in an open waste bin does not meet "appropriate technical measures". For a few old cards it is overkill to make it a thing; for a box full, hand it in for destruction.

Special cases

Bankrupt BV or merger

On a merger or takeover, a large stock of old-brand material is often left behind. Policy here: anything carrying the old name that cannot be rebranded should be destroyed within 90 days of legal succession. Keep the certificate as proof of a careful transition.

Political or campaign material

After elections or campaigns, large graphic material is left over. Free of personal data, so no GDPR issue, but a brand issue for the organisation or party. Standard P-3 suffices.

Premiums with a chip (USB, powerbank with memory)

Treat as hardware. DIN E-4 or E-5 depending on content. In doubt, request separate processing and a mention on the certificate.

Combining with the regular archive

Most of these materials can go on the same mobile run as your confidential archive. On request we place a separate container for "miscellaneous branded" and give it its own line on the certificate. No separate run needed.

Recommendations for marketing and HR teams

1. Plan a clean-up session immediately at every house-style or name change. Do not delay.
2. Make a list per category of what should go: business cards of departed colleagues, old flyers, old banners.
3. Set up one collection point centrally for all staff; not separate per department.
4. Combine with archive clean-up. Saves a separate run.
5. Request a certificate with the branded share if desired for brand-protection reporting.

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Ready for the rebrand? Email us via desnipperaar.nl with the scope. We will schedule a collection run when it suits you.