Environmental Impact

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While security is our main focus, we also believe in doing business responsibly. For DSS, that means recycling the by-products of our destruction processes, including shredded paper, x-rays, and e-waste. When you partner with DSS, you have peace of mind that your assets are properly handled, and that we are making the right decisions to protect our environment and keep unnecessary and dangerous waste out of local landfills.

Impact of Recycling

Every year DSS shreds and recycles an average of 2,289 tons of paper. That is approximately 457,800,000 individual paper sheets. In order to send the shredded paper for recycling, we must first compress it into 1,000 lbs. Bales.

Each bale is 6 feet long, 3 feet tall, and 2.5 feet deep. If we lined up just one year’s worth of DSS bales end to end, the line would stretch over five miles. This is 5 miles of paper that was responsibly recycled into low-grade paper goods. Here is a look at the resources saved by recycling the paper we shred.

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Water

Every ton of new paper produced uses 7,000 gallons of water. Through recycling, every year DSS saves an average of 16,023,000 gallons of water from pollution in the paper production process.

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Trees

Most trees used in paper production are grown in sustainable forests, but recycling is a critical part of managing demand and keeping paper production sustainable. Every ton of paper recycled saves 17 trees, and DSS recycling saves 38,913 trees yearly.

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Oil

This is another precious resource that is heavily used in paper production. Producing one ton of paper requires 380 gallons of oil. On a yearly basis, DSS recycling saves 869,820 gallons of oil.

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Electricity

Every ton of paper produced requires 4,100-kilowatt hours of energy. This is enough to power a 60-watt bulb for over 7.5 years, and on average, DSS recycling saves 9,384,900 kWh every year. Learn more about how recycling saves energy here.

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Landfill

Local landfills are often the silent victims of unnecessary waste. One ton of paper uses 3.5 cubic yards of landfill space. DSS recycling keeps 8,011.5 cubic yards of waste out of local landfills every year.

Learn how the paper recycling process works by watching the video below.

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We also recycle over 16,500 lbs. of x-rays every year, keeping dangerous chemicals out of local landfills and preserving valuable resources.

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