The legislature finds that the careless disposal of personal information by commercial, governmental, or other entities poses a significant threat of identity theft, thus risking a person's privacy, financial security, and other interests. The alarming increase in identity theft crimes and other problems associated with the improper disposal of personal information can be traced, in part, to disposal policies and methods that make it easy for unscrupulous persons to obtain and use that information to the detriment of the public. Accordingly, the legislature declares that all organizations and individuals have a continuing obligation to ensure the security and confidentiality of personal information during the process of disposing of that information.