Suggestions for Destroying Floppy Disks

[sfreeman8]

I have so many of these 3.5 floppies (can't really call them floppies) for my old computer. They were backups of my clients and because of HIPAA laws, I can't just trash them. I can't erase them because I don't have a computer with a disk drive.

Anyone know how I can destroy them since they're no longer needed? I can't shred them because of the metal and hard plastic and can't burn them, if they would burn, for the same reason.

Any ideas?

[braggin]

My town publishes an annual statement on how to get rid of electronics and electronic-related material that would include floppy disks like you have. If your town doesn't publish anything like this, I think you should call your Town Hall and ask how best to dispose of them. Your town's garbage collector would most likely have a policy about getting rid of items like this.

[CharmedPhoenix]

Ahh, I understand totally.  I never had sensitive client info on floppies, but that's the only reason my old PC isn't gone yet.  I need to remove the floppy contents then erase and reformat completely.  I'm working on figuring out a craft project that uses old disks. 

When I worked in aerospace we had a piece of equipment that had a strong magnet in it and one of the techs would put discs against it for a few seconds to erase what was on them.  Do you have some magnets around?  Conduction stove burners are strong magnets.

What if you broke or chopped them in half so they wouldn't be usable?  Maybe if you broke them open you could yank the actual discs out.  They're light enough to be shredded by a credit card shredder or cut up with scissors.  The plastic and metal could then be recycled.  If you have kids they would probably like to help with the destruction.

Hmm, what would happen if you immersed them in a bucket of vinegar?  That's an acid and would probably destroy the surface of the actual discs without being toxic.

It appears that the sliding metal shield can be pried off and the plastic case pried open to expose the actual disc.  Another job for young helpers.

Have you contacted local computer repair/recycling businesses for suggestions?

There are shredding companies that shred sensitive materials.

[jaymz462]

Use a magnet first, then pry the disks apart and cut up the thin plastic stuff.  That'll do nicely.

[sfreeman8]

Thanks for joggling my brain. I completely forgot about magnets. Hubby has large ones in the garage. He also has some kind of strong cutting thingies that might work.  I also might try prying one or two of them apart. I always wanted to see what they looked like inside. 

As for town hall, they don't have that kind of info and we don't have garbage collectors where I live. We have to take our stuff to a transfer station/county recycling bins or local landfill. Can you say "behind the times" area of the country? 

Thanks so much! FC members are great.

[countrygirl12]

Burn them.

[akee318]

Seems like I remember something about a magnet destroying files--- google it.

[smithjcsdfw]

A magnet is a good but not always foolproof methoed because of variables in the manufacturing.  But if your wanting to be complient with HIPPA laws you might seek out the DATA storage and archive folks who will know how to destroy the Data on the floppies and remove your risk from legal entannglements by shifting the burdon of the destruction from you to them.  I remeber taking a Box of payroll records for 10 years from a company down to them on magnetic reel to reel tapes.

[oldbuddy]

Drill a few holes through the whole thing and it's not going to be read by anyone.

[lvstephanie]

I was going to also mention degaussing them with a strong magnet... You might also see if you can find a cheap USB-Floppy drive. Perhaps if there is a PC repair shop you could borrow / rent one of those in order to erase the data... At work we use the DBAN (www.dban.org) tool to securely erase the data before formatting it.

[BlackSheepNY]

I have so many of these 3.5 floppies (can't really call them floppies) for my old computer. They were backups of my clients and because of HIPAA laws, I can't just trash them. I can't erase them because I don't have a computer with a disk drive.

Anyone know how I can destroy them since they're no longer needed? I can't shred them because of the metal and hard plastic and can't burn them, if they would burn, for the same reason.

Any ideas?

Smash them open with a hammer and put the actual "floppy" part through a shredder.

[sfreeman8]

Well, I spent 4 hours yesterday erasing those disks. I had over 200 of them. In fact, i even forgot who were some of my oldest clients until I saw the disks and now I know why I never had a moment to breathe!  The attorney's were the worse with the most disks. One attorney had 10 or more disks per year. He fully retired this year after working with him almost 30 years. 

Thanks for the magnet and the drill suggestions. I did both.

[lucky382001]

hmmm yu could recycle them.  I'd glue a few together to make a pencil holder or something. Otherwise poke holes in them and hang them in bushes that you want to keep birds out of.

[CharmedPhoenix]

Burn them.

Burning these materials would be toxic!