Bung: Just throw them into the bins for secure paper shredding and console yourself that at least the paper is recycled.

networkn: Hi There!

I am looking for a cheap and preferably ecologically friendly way to dispose of the following: 

Boxes of Floppy Disks
CD's
Backup Tapes (SLR, LTO, DAT).

Any recommendations?

Reviving this thread. A lot of these ideas aren't really ecologically friendly. Is there no cost effective way to do this via secure recycling? I have about 280 of them!

My parents have been using this company to securely destroy their business paper files for the last 15 years. Apparently they can organise "secure destruction of storage media".

Website states: "Document Destruction is a 100% Kiwi owned paper shredding company -  We care about our environment. We have a zero waste target on all recyclable materials”

For optical disks, just buy a bucket and a bottle of bleach.

Put the disks in the bucket and pour in enough bleach to cover the disks.

Leave for a week and then remove the disks.

Most CD-R and CD-RW disks will be bleached out. Some high quality CDs will look like new. They have been protected by a layer of lacquer that is resistant to the bleach. Just get a flat bladed screwdriver and make a scratch across the surface of the disk. You only need one scratch. Then return the disk to the bleach bucket for another week.

Some cheap DVDs will have delaminated and the bleach will have wiped the dye layer out to transparency. Most will not but the bleach will have softened the bonding between the layers. Just peel the layers of the disk apart and then drop them back in the bleach for another day.

After all that, you are just left with a bucket of bleach and some transparent plastic disks. The bleach can go down the drain and the disks may be recyclable with your other plastic waste. (That will depend on your local recycling scheme.)

A microwave might be faster for a small number of disks but if you have hundreds you can chuck them all in the bucket at once. If you do use a microwave, you should probably not use it for food afterwards.