How to destroy a CD/DVD rom safely?
I have old CDs/DVDs which have some backups, these backups have some work and personal files. I always had problems when I needed to physically destroy them to make sure no one will reuse them.
Breaking them is dangerous, pieces could fly fast and may cause harm. Scratching them badly is what I always do but it takes long time and I managed to read some of the data in the scratched CDs/DVDs.
What's the way to physically destroy a CD/DVD safely?
The proper way is to get yourself a shredder that also handles cds - look online for cd shredders. This is the right option if you end up doing this routinely.
I don't do this very often - For small scale destruction I favour a pair of tin snips - they have enough force to cut through a cd, yet are blunt enough to cause small cracks along the sheer line. Kitchen shears with one serrated side work well too. You want to damage the data layer along with shearing along the plastic, and these work magnificently. Do it in a bag, cause this generates sparkly bits.
There's also the fun, and probably dangerous way - find yourself an old microwave, and microwave them. I would suggest doing this in a well ventilated area of course, and not using your mother's good microwave. There's a lot of videos of this on YouTube - such as this (who's done this in a kitchen... and using his mom's microwave). This results in a very much destroyed cd in every respect. If I was an evil hacker mastermind, this is what I'd do. The other options are better for the rest of us.
This website explains 10 creative ways of doing this:
Wraps the discs with food wrap then fold it.
Shred the discs. There are several CD shredder machines, that operate like common paper shredders.
Cut the discs. If you don't use a shredder, a heavy pair of scissors can easily cut through a disc. The reflective foil will crack and flake, which can be messy. Be careful, as cutting the disc is tough. If you prefer a clean and safer alternative.
Break the discs. Wrap the disc in a towel and then break or crack it with a firm kick or heavy hammer. The towel will protect you as CDs tend to shatter into pieces. Dispose of them while wearing safety gloves.
Microwave the discs. Place the disc into a microwave and set it for 5 seconds, or until you see sparks along the surface of the disk. When you pull it out, it will have a spiderweb pattern of cracks. However, this can be dangerous and destroy your microwave, so it is not recommended.
Use duct tape to remove the foil lining from the discs. Put several strips of duct tape over the top of the CD. Once the tape is firmly attached, rip it off. The foil lining should come off and you will be left with a transparent CD. This trick works on some CD's only.
Cut the discs with a knife. Some CDs, especially burned ones, have the data layer unprotected by plastic. In this case, take a table knife to the label and start scraping shiny flakes in the trash.
Sand the discs. Use a belt sander on the label side. This is quite messy, so do it in an area that is easy to clean.
Center punch the discs. Using a self-firing center punch or a hammer and a manual punch, strike a couple of dozen deep dimples into the shiny side of the CD or DVD. Anything less than a dozen strikes could allow data to still be extracted.
Erase the discs with the computer. If you have a DVD or CD drive on your computer, you can erase the data on the disc, which only works on burned, rewritable discs.
From these 10 ways, I've have chosen my preferred method - this is in bold text, but take it easy, you could break your microwave by doing this(and this could be dangerous for your microwave and for you).
Choose one or more, or even all the 10 ways if you really want to make sure no leak of information could be retrieved from any piece of the disposed CD's foil lining, but I can assure you any of these methods will do the job.