Chuck CD's / DVD's with Private Info Safely

I've been looking for a way to dispose of my old CD's and DVD's. Over the years the discs have accumulated. I have data back-ups and Linux installers mostly. I no longer need most of these discs. I've updated my data back-ups with the latest versions of files or discarded some which I no longer needed. The linux CD's and DVD's are also outdated. Linux development moves fast and these installers have already been superseded many times over since they were burned. I even have Warty Warthog  and Mandrakelinux 10.1 in one of those CD wallets somewhere.

Anyway, one of my first ideas was to look for some recycling center that could take my optical media. I was even willing to pay for shipping. It's been three years since I started asking around and I still haven't found one. If you know of one located in the Philippines, please leave a comment. One thing you need to worry about though if your sending your discs to the recycling bin is privacy. If you have any sort of private information in your data back-ups, you should render the discs unreadable before chucking them to the recycle bin. You can do that by scratching the discs enough that the reflective coating on the read side can't be read by any drives. But remember to keep away from any filings, because the materials used in coating CD's and DVD's can be hazardous. There are tools like the DVD/CD Destroyer that scratch the disc just deep enough to damage the outer film protecting the chemical coating (which has the data after you 'burn' a disc).

You can also go break, hammer or cut the discs to make it physically impossible to read the discs. That tends to be messy and you might injure yourself doing it. You might as well just shred the discs with one of those multi-purpose shredders that can take paper, credit cards or discs. Both Shredder Shark and Fellowes' Powershred line have one of those small personal crosscutting shredders that can shred your discs and documents to confetti-like sizes. There are dedicated DVD/CD shredders too, though you'll get the most use from a multi-purpose shredder.

These are just a couple of ideas on how to ensure your personal information remains safe as you dispose of your media. There are many other ways to go about this. If you have your own media disposal ideas, post comments so we can discuss them.