I highly recommend doing this at the close of any relationship. I always return everything to the person that could be considered as a gift to me or a shared possession, and if they choose to return to me any of the gifts I gave to them, then I dispose of them asap (obviously not in front of the person). I’ll also dispose of anything that has memories including photos, emails, messages, etc..

So much better for closure and starting a new chapter free and clear from reminders of failed relationships of the past.

I understand the sentiment for sure because I dealt with the same type of person myself. But I’m still not okay with just throwing something away when it could be useful for someone else. There’s countless ways to dispose of something you don’t want besides a dumpster. Just putting it out in an alley would be better than that. Or dropping it at a thrift store, posting it on a free site, whatever. You’re still disposing of it no matter how you did it, but you’re not harming the environment in the process, right? Anyway, just my opinion and otherwise I’m sorry for how you were mistreated.

I hope you've kept at least one photo of your ex. Look at the picture and remind yourself that your ex is a human being and not a piece of trash and that you actually liked each other despite your differences. Such an act might be less empowering than the dumpster method, but you'll be better off in the long run.

Nope. Some people are just simply not worth it. Not worth the paper the picture is printed on. Some exes have no moral compass and are abusive. They have ulterior motives and control issues. Being human is much, much more than just being a member of our species.

Huh? That seems really excessive and unnecessary, unless the person was very abusive and it was a traumatic relationship. I’ve had a few relationships, but there’s only one where I wanted to forget they ever existed.

I know how that feels. Someone once treated me as a disposable object so after some years I burned all my paintings and drawings they that they had inspired me to create. Only thing is they're all still embedded in my mind. I know I can draw and paint them all over again if I wanted to.