How does one deal with Torah tapes and CDs? Are they considered shemot?

[Moderator]

This question was received via email from a Naaleh student:

I have hundreds of Torah tapes that were left to me by someone who moved away. The tapes have been sitting in boxes for 4 years. Now I too am moving too. I live in a place where people do not listen to any tapes, they listen to their music on the internet and CD's- most people do not even have tape players any more. So I cannot give them to anyone. The shul is full of junk that people do not use already. What do I need to do with them? I do not feel good throwing them out. Do they need to be buried? Thank you very much.

[Rabbi Shimon1]

The tapes do not need to be buried.  Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt"l and others have written that tapes do not have a status of sheimos, and even erasing the text would not be prohibited.  Technically, they could be thrown out.  If these Torah tapes are unique and unavailable in any other more modern medium, then it would be a shame to lose them, and someone might see if they can be converted to an MP3 format.