Strut disassembly

I am planning to take a load of metal to the local recycling center and have the old strut assemblies from my Jeep WK.  I'm concerned some good intentioned volunteer may try to disassemble them to separate the metal and rubber components without realizing the forces they are going to unleash.  

Therefore I want to disassemble them, but want to minimize the work on my part. I also avoid a situation where I may run out of spring compressor travel before all tension is released. 

Is there a safe and easy way to disassemble struts without using a spring compressor? Or is the compressor the way to ensure I keep all my teeth and digits intact?

Put it on the ground, put your foot on the strut top and zap the nut off with an impact. It will explosively disassemble and launch the strut, so be sure to aim it. If you have your foot firmly on the strut top, it won't move.

I should really insert a disclaimer here, but this was SOP in the FM shop when I started wrenching there. Which means the owner had been doing it since the 80s. Only time I saw it go wrong was when someone speared a battery with a shock. Not me, but my battery :D

I've done exactly like Keith described plenty of times. They'll pop off towards wherever you have them aimed, but they're not man killers, despite folk lore on the internet. 

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

Thanks for having my back :) I'm not sure what the new kids at the shop would do if I did this today, but I've done it dozens of times.

Keith beat me to the solution. The only thing I can add is I do it outside so that way when E36 M3 goes flying it doesn't hit anything I care about

Thanks guys, I'll give it a try this evening. 

I usually put my foot on the spring and rattle the nut with an impact. The strut body only shoots out about 18 inches with disappointingly low force. 

This was after removing the nut

Trent said:

I usually put my foot on the spring and rattle the nut with an impact. The strut body only shoots out about 18 inches with disappointingly low force. 

My buddy had never done it that way and was convinced the strut I was helping him with was going to shoot through the wall of my shop. Literally didn't even shoot off of the workbench. He's a believer in the "just impact the dang nut off" method, now.