How to bulk destroy CDs and DVDs?

We are soon moving to our new place and I am trying to pack all my stuff. Being an IT professional, you can imagine that I have a lot of CDs and DVDs for software, backup etc. So, I was going through all of these media and I realized that I need to get rid of a lot of them as I have no use for them anymore. Here comes the problem, how to destroy hundreds of CDs/DVDs easily. There are many suggestions on the internet, but those either cost money or hazardous or tedious. I needed a quick and acceptable solution. So, here is what I come up with:

WARNING: Wear safety glasses as some of the CD/DVDs might shatter.

 

  • Get your drill and put a big drill bit on it
  • Stack your CD/DVDs in a stable fashion, you can tape them together if you need to.
  • Place them on the ground on top of some scrap piece of wood so if you drill through them completely you won’t destroy your floor
  • Step on one side of the stack to keep them steady
  • Drill 2-3 holes on them in a random fashion. You can flip over and drill 2-3 holes on the other side as well.

Here are my results:

Picture quality is not good as it is taken by my iPhone. This process causes dimples and warps on the areas surrounding drill holes as you might be able to see it on the pictures. Since now the CD/DVD is not balanced it is almost impossible to read them with a regular old optical drive. It is enough safety for my liking, it is definitely much better than scratching them.

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