Apart from getting in The Courier
for indecent exposure in the lab, there's nothing that would be particularly noteworthy. Destruction methods could include:

1 - combustion. This could be enhanced using sodium nitrate, or pretreatment with nitric acid to form nitrocellulose, but it would just be a fire.

2 - dissolution. Preferably in hydrochloric acid, which dissolves cotton quite quickly. But it would be as exciting as watching a sugar lump dissolve in hot water.

3 - shredding. I don't have a shredder at work though, and I suspect the cotton may not cut cleanly and chew up in the blades.

4 - feeding them to a goat. Unfortunately I do not have ready access to any goats.

Perhaps I should come up with another experiment.

Edit@DiT. Very probably!
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Mon 6 Oct 2008, 14:54, Reply)