Secure recycling of non working phones

[Condi]

What is the best thing to do with phones which are non working, but still have sensitive data on them? I have 2 old phones, both knackered, one with a broken screen and bent chassis, the other is a Samsung S4 (/maybe S5??) which won't boot. They want disposing of and recycling, but I can't get onto them to delete all the data, remove Google account etc, which is always recommended. Is it being overly paranoid to be worried about them either being repaired or someone accessing the data on them? Will they simply be crushed on arrival at the plant?

[sgrimshaw]

I rip laptops / phones / hard drives apart use a sledgehammer on the motherboards/drives etc then throw the bits into the electricals recycling skip.

[deckster]

Define "sensitive". If it's just pictures of your wife in her undies, I suspect nobody will care. If it's nuclear launch codes, destruction of the phone is probably in order.

Plus if it's all linked to your Google account, you can sign out devices remotely from the Security tab of your Google dashboard so even if the phones were resurrected they wouldn't be linked to your account.

[cobra kid]

I've just left stuff in a bowl of water overnight after I've cracked them open first.

[TheLurker]

Microwave.

Please film and post results.