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Covid-19

Thank you / Diolch

Thank you to all the key workers out there at the moment – NHS workers, care organisations, retail workers, delivery drivers, waste collection workers, teachers and all the other people who are out delivering a vital service to keep our world functioning.   

It feels pretty frightening at the moment – being a human being, being a member of a community and being the owner of a small business.  Taclus is taking it one day at a time and we are grateful to the government support we have to keep our employees paid for the next weeks.  We are looking forward to seeing green shoots of hope as Spring arrives.

Business as Usual

Meanwhile, as licensed upper tier waste carriers we are on the government list of exempted industries allowing us to continue to operate and provide a service to customers.  So, we are available to ensure that organisations can comply efficiently with data protection legislation while working remotely. 

Along with regular collections, we are offering new ways to support our customers: with the rise in home-working, we are providing loose sacks and a from-home collection option.  We can also assist with sorting and bagging-up if you are planning a large clear-out and have no staff in the office to organize it. 

We are taking all precautions

Despite the on-going disruption, we are still getting calls from customers who are taking advantage of empty offices to have backlogs of paper cleared from storage rooms.  We are taking the following precautions to manage the risk around the spread of Covid-19:

  • In the course of our normal process, we use low-resistance face masks standard SR510 P3R, effective not only against the paper dust we have to deal with every day but also against viruses.  We often deal with things like damp/mouldy paper, flood-damaged paper etc, so we are well-practiced in dealing with health risks derived from contact.
  • In addition to masks, we use sanitiser rated to PSLog6, effective to 99.9998% (household bleach, soap and water etc. are effective to PSLog4, 99.99%).  Where we are wearing gloves, these are treated with the same sanitiser.

What precautions do we ask you to take?

Please ensure all tissues and paper towels are disposed of in your general waste bins. This will ensure that this material is burnt and reduces the risk of infection to our staff. These must NOT be placed in with your confidential material as this could be deemed as contaminated and our operatives will be advised to not empty or collect the containers.

Public Health England has issued the below guidelines for when someone in your organisation is suspected of having the virus:

“All waste that has been in contact with the individual, including used tissues, and masks if used, should be put in a plastic rubbish bag and tied when full. The plastic bag should then be placed in a second bin bag and tied. It should be put in a safe place and marked for storage until the result is available. If the individual tests negative, this can be put in the normal waste. Should the individual test positive, you will need to use a specialist clinical waste provider to collect the waste”.

And finally….

We will keep our customers informed of any changes to services or changes to maintain service reliability. In the meantime, please feel free to contact us if you have any queries.

Thank you for your ongoing support

Stay safe, everyone! Cadwch yn saff, bawb!

Pollypockets – do we REALLY need them?

As a shredding company we see a lot of pollypockets, and I mean, A LOT! In fact, we see so many, that we have two different types of shredded paper – top quality shredded paper and pollypocket shredded paper.  As this blog writer was sorting through some of this last week, I wondered why we all use so many of these plastic pockets? And also, who invented them?  So today’s blog entry is answering these two important questions.

Who invented the pollypocket???

Well, we can thank Mike Townsend for this; he invented the punched plastic folder in 1986 (Wikipedia).  How on earth did we manage before then?!

Why did he invent them??

To protect papers from spillage, damp, crumpling and other messy things that have no place in a tidy folder.

Why do we use them??

Well, for all of the above reasons, but I think there’s a bit more to it than that. I think they are an office comfort blanket and that we use them to help us feel like we are doing a good job in the office.

For example, if we’ve put a lot of paper into pollypockets on a Friday afternoon, the world feels like a much better functioning place.  If I go to a meeting that is important to me and I have lots of papers to hand out, I feel much better entering the room with those papers safely wrapped in pollypockets.  And when my daughter is getting prepared for exams, pollypockets are an essential part of the preparation process!

So perhaps we use pollypockets because they just make us feel good!

But are they good for the environment??

Well, they don’t harm the environment. They are usually made of recyclable material and are recyclable.

Do you need to get rid of pollypockets before putting your paper into a confidential waste bag?

No, but it would be kinder to the environment to reuse them

So, to answer the question…..do we REALLY need pollypockets?  I think not.  But do we like them? We certainly seem to!   Thank you, Mike Townsend for your creation!

To find out more about Taclus Confidential and our shredding services, please do contact us.

Happy Friday!

Did You Know?

Weird facts about shredding that few people realise!

  • Did you know that the first paper shredder was invented by Mr Abbot Augustus Low from New York in 1909 – “to offer a more compact way of disposing of waste paper”.  In 1935, a German engineer named Adolf Ehinger created another shredding machine and he did so in a hurry…..its purpose was to shred hundreds of volumes of anti-Nazi propaganda before Hitler’s secret police found it.
  • Did you know that cross cut shredders became the norm after 1979?  This happened after Iranian revolutionaries stormed the American embassy and seized loads of shredded paper.  Because the shredders only cut one way, the revolutionaries were able to stick together the thin strips of paper to access stacks (literally) of confidential information.
  • Did you know that it is not illegal for someone to go through your rubbish?  What’s more, anything they find in there is fair game – including your personal details?
  • Did you know that only 10% of identity theft cases happen through online exchanges?  The majority of identity theft is via paper means.
  • Did you know that businesses need to safely dispose of your paper documents and that this is a legal obligation?
  • Did you know that shredding 1 tonne of paper saves, on average 17 trees and prevents air and water pollution?
  • Did you know that Taclus Confidential are here to help you help your business and to keep the identities of your customers or patients SAFE?

Contact us for more information

Cofion cynnes

Dave Lovatt

Director.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all our loyal and prospective shredding customers!

taculus heart

We’re feeling the love at Taclus and want to pass it on to you too……does anyone out there want to partner up with Taclus and be our valentine?! If so, do contact us or search the website for information on our services

Meanwhile, here are some interesting facts about Valentine’s Day:

Why is Valentine’s Day for lovers?

One of the most popular stories outlining the origins of Valentine’s Day dates back to 270 A.D. during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius II who prohibited marriage because he believed single men made better soldiers. Bishop Valentine disregarded the Emperor’s wishes and continued to marry couples in secret until he was caught and thrown in jail for treason. He was executed on the 14 of February, which is why we celebrate St. Valentine’s every year on this date.

Red roses

We all relate the colour red with passion and love. Legend also has it that Venus, the goddess of love, favoured red roses above all other flowers.

Fun fact: Almost 75% of all people who buy flowers on Valentine’s Day are men and over 50 million roses are given each year on this day.

Valentine’s Day peculiarities:

  • White Day

The custom in Japan is somewhat different from our own. To express their love, women give men hand-made chocolate gifts on Valentine’s Day, while men reciprocate on the following month (White Day) by gifting a present that is three times as valuable as the gift they received on the 14th of February.

  • Black noodles for the lonely

In Seoul and throughout South Korea, women give chocolate to men on the 14 of February. On the 14 of March, men show their love by gifting candy to their girlfriends and wives. All the single ladies and men who did not receive any candy or chocolate grieve on the 14 of April (aka Black Day) by going out and eating black noodles. Who knew?!

  • A ban on Valentine’s Day

Believe it or not, this holiday is actually banned in Saudi Arabia. Gifting tokens of affection such as flowers, chocolates or presents is forbidden, and companies in the retail and hospitality industry are discouraged from promoting the holiday. Furthermore, people are not allowed to wear any red clothing; selling red objects on this day is likewise prohibited.

On the Sixth Shred of Christmas my client gave to me……

……Six Tonnes of Paper

……Five Storage Bins

…..Four calling cards

…..Three Year Ends

…..two purple books

….And a hard drive from a PC!

This lyric was provided by Lucy, 16, who took her earphones off for a minute to contribute to our project.  And it’s a good one, not only because it fits to the music, but also because it’s such a core part of our business.  In November alone we did huge clear-outs for four businesses; we took our mobile shredding lorry onto two sites and were able to shred there and then, and when access and site traffic was too busy, we took our lovely Taclus vans along, loaded them up and took the paper back to Taclus HQ to shred.  Both ways, the customer was able to get rid of large volumes of confidential waste in a secure way for an excellent price. 

If you have large volumes of paper to get rid of, contact us.

On the Fifth Shred of Christmas my client gave to me……

On the Fifth Shred of Christmas my client gave to me…..

……FIVE STORAGE BINS!!!!!

…..Four calling cards

…..Three Year Ends

…..two purple books

….And a hard drive from a PC!

C’mon!  The best line yet!  And everybody’s favourite line in the carol when you can really sing your heart out!

Whilst many of our customers have consoles in the office that match their office furniture, we can also provide outdoor, lockable bins for large volumes of confidential waste.  And that doesn’t just mean paper.  We have a couple of customers that use these bins for disposable clothing which we collect weekly. 

So, as you are humming this song today, consider whether your firm would benefit from large storage bins as well as your inside consoles….and if the answer is yes, contact us and we’ll get you kitted out.

On the Fourth Shred of Christmas my client gave to me…….

…..Four calling cards

…..Three Year Ends

…..two purple books

….and a hard drive from a PC

The best line yet?  Yup, contributed by Megan….but just wait for Five…..she made that one up too!

At this time of year, people often decide to spend a day de-toxing the office.  This activity enables people to be productive and efficient without having to use 100% of their brain power – perfect for the Christmas season.  So if you are rooting through your desk and you find piles of unused business cards (or calling cards), or headed paper etc, remember that these branded products contain confidential information and could result in a data breach.  Don’t bin it, put it in your confidential waste bag or console…….if you don’t have one?  Contact us….we pride ourselves on excellent customer service and can confidently say we are the best shredding company in Wales and the South West!

On the Third Shred of Christmas my client sent to me……

On the Third Shred of Christmas my client gave to me

……Three Year Ends

…..two purple books

….and a hard drive from a PC

This lyric from Dave again (who over-ruled Three French Dictionaries, which this blog writer thought was much better).

For many businesses the end of the tax year can result in stacks of confidential financial information piled up in back rooms and storage areas. After the required retention periods have passed, these boxes of files could leave you vulnerable to a security breach.

A new financial year is a perfect time for businesses and individuals to review their paperwork from the previous year and decide whether documents need to be stored or destroyed. Any documents that are no longer required, must be securely disposed of and documents that are needed can either be stored at the office, digitally or off-site in secure storage.

We have several accountancy firm customers with some lovely testimonials to read about the value we have been able to add to their business.

On the Second Shred of Christmas my client gave to me…..

…..two purple books

….and a hard drive from a PC

This lyric from Tom, 14.  Why purple?  Why books?  Firstly, we shred paper of all colours and you don’t need to distinguish between colours in your console bin – throw anything in and we will do the rest.  The shredded paper then goes to make paper towels – all recyclable, often dyed, so the colour of the paper you put in the bin doesn’t matter.

And did you know that books are shredded too?  Not just bin ends from publishers, but also books that aren’t sold at charity shops, or that are dumped in waste sites.  The shredding process is the same, but because of the glue, the quality of paper is different.  It sells for a different price and makes different products, but it still means that books aren’t wasted, they are recycled….so although it is literary death row, they really are going to a better place.

So, rest in peace, books, and clients, be happy that your books, of any colour, are helping to save the environment for now and the future.

14 days and counting……

The 12 Shreds of Christmas!

From now until Christmas we will be sharing Taclus’ 12 Shreds of Christmas! We’re very excited about our creativity which came to us during a car ride to Laugharne last week. Hope you enjoy it too…..So, watch this space tomorrow….”On the first shred of Christmas my client gave to me…………”