What can go in paper shredding? The full list
Almost everyone having an archive collected for the first time asks the same question. Do the staples have to come out? And the paperclips, the plastic sleeves, those heavy metal lever-arch files? The short answer is that you barely have to pre-sort anything. Below you will find, material by material, what can go in, what we remove ourselves and what genuinely belongs in a separate stream.
The short answer in a table
| Material | Can it go in? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paper, all types | Yes | The main stream, destroyed to DIN 66399 P-5 |
| Staples | Yes | Go through the shredder |
| Paperclips | Yes | Filtered out after cutting |
| Index tabs | Yes | Cardboard or plastic, both fine |
| Cardboard ring binders | Yes | Can stay in |
| Plastic punched pockets | Yes | Loose pockets are no problem |
| Confidential printed cardboard | Yes | Document wallets, folders |
| Thermal paper | Yes | Receipts, card slips, boarding passes |
| Large metal lever-arch files | We remove them | You do not have to empty them |
| Hard drives, SSDs, USB | Separate stream | Different DIN level, logged by serial number |
| Phones, tablets | Separate stream | Priced per item |
| CD, DVD, backup tapes | Separate stream | Their own cut level |
| Clean boxes with no data | Better not | You would be paying for them needlessly |
Staples, paperclips and index tabs
This is by far the most common question and the answer is reassuring. Staples and paperclips can simply stay where they are. An industrial shredder is built for a paper stream that contains metal, so it takes no damage from them. After cutting, the metal is lifted out of the shreds with a magnet so the paper goes on to recycling clean.
That means you can pick up a file, slide the contents into the box and do nothing further. The hours offices used to spend pulling out staples are simply not necessary.
Binders, ring binders and folders
Cardboard ring binders can stay in. Large metal lever-arch files, the kind with a wide spine and a clamp mechanism, we remove ourselves before the paper goes into the shredder. So you do not have to empty those in advance, although doing so does save volume. A box with empty binders in it fills up faster than a box holding only paper.
Want to keep the number of boxes down? Then it pays to shake the binders out and put them with the ordinary waste paper. How many boxes you are likely to need is covered in how much paper is in a filing cabinet.
Plastic sleeves, display folders and film
Loose punched pockets and plastic display folders can go in. They are destroyed together with the paper and separated from the stream afterwards. If you have a great many of them, a whole cupboard of presentation folders for instance, keep those apart. A paper stream with a lot of plastic in it is harder to process and you will eventually notice that in the price.
Laminated paper and plastic cards fall into the same category. A handful is no problem. A boxful is worth mentioning when you request the quote.
Cardboard and document wallets
Confidential printed cardboard can go in. Think of document wallets, suspension files and cardboard tabs carrying names or file numbers. That is exactly the material you would not want to put out with the ordinary waste paper.
Clean moving boxes without any information on them are the opposite case. They hold no data, so you would be paying to destroy something that could simply go with the waste paper. That is a waste of your budget.
Unusual paper types
Thermal paper is the best known borderline case. Receipts, card slips and boarding passes can go straight in with the confidential paper, no separate stream needed. There is more on this in thermal paper, receipts and boarding passes.
Carbon paper, multipart sets and coloured paper also go in as normal. The paper type makes no difference to the destruction level, because P-5 refers to particle size rather than material.
What genuinely belongs in a separate stream
Anything that stores data digitally goes separately. That is not an administrative rule but a technical one. A hard drive needs a different DIN 66399 level than paper. Each item is also logged by serial number so you can prove destruction per carrier, which is impossible once it is buried in twenty kilos of shreds.
- Hard drives and SSDs. Supply separately, we log the serial number.
- USB sticks and memory cards. Small but they count, see disposing of USB sticks and memory cards.
- Phones and tablets. Priced per item.
- CD, DVD and Blu-ray. These have their own cut level, see destroying CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays.
- Backup tapes. Separate, with a certificate per tape.
The good news is that this costs no extra trip. Data carriers can come along in the same collection as the paper, they just do not go in the same box. How we handle that is set out on data destruction.
Do you really not have to pre-sort?
For the overwhelming majority, that is correct. The only separation we ask for is paper on one side and data carriers on the other. Everything within that can be mixed. You do not have to sort by year, by department or by document type.
What does help is telling us roughly what you have when you ask for a price. An estimate of the number of boxes and the number of data carriers is enough for a fixed price in advance.
Want to know what your destruction costs?
Tell us how many boxes or containers you have and you get a fixed price up front. No call-out charge within 20 km of Amsterdam, a certificate with every job. The method for paper is on paper shredding and the rates are on our pricing page.
Request a quoteFrequently asked questions
Do staples and paperclips have to come out?
No. Staples, paperclips and index tabs can stay in the box or roll container. The shredder processes them along with the paper and the metal is filtered out afterwards. You do not need to pre-sort anything.
Can binders and ring binders go in?
Cardboard ring binders can stay in. Large metal lever-arch files we remove ourselves before the paper goes into the shredder, so you do not have to empty them in advance.
Can plastic sleeves go in with the paper?
Loose punched pockets and plastic display folders can go in. They are destroyed together with the paper and separated from the paper stream afterwards. Large quantities of plastic are better kept apart, which helps in processing.
Can cardboard go in with paper shredding?
Confidential printed cardboard can go in, for example file folders and document wallets. Clean moving boxes with no data on them do not belong in a destruction job, because you would be paying for them unnecessarily.
Can hard drives and USB sticks go in the same box?
No. Data carriers go in a separate stream because they need a different DIN 66399 level and each item is logged by serial number. They can come along in the same collection, just not mixed in with the paper.
Can thermal paper such as receipts go in?
Yes. Receipts, card slips and boarding passes can go in with the confidential paper. No separate stream is needed for thermal paper.
Conclusion
The practical rule is simple. Paper with everything attached to it can go in a box or roll container. Anything that stores data digitally goes separately. Staples, paperclips, index tabs, cardboard folders and plastic sleeves do not need removing. Large metal lever-arch files we take out ourselves.
Unsure about a particular material? Mention it when you request the job. You say it once and then you know it will be handled properly.
Ready to clear out? See our archive destruction for a complete archive or paper shredding for individual boxes. Within 5 minutes you have a fixed price.