Forum: gaming.stackexchange.com
Tags: <minecraft-java-edition>
Title: How do I permanently destroy blocks in Minecraft?
Question: I have been digging a mine and now have a slew of dirt and cobblestone blocks. How do I destroy them permanently and keep them from filling up my inventory?

Answers:
sents: text: You have a few options: Throw them into a pool of lava Throw them into a cactus block Throw them into fire Explode them (items will be destroyed if they are in the radius of a TNT or creeper explosion)
text: Just throw them on the ground and forget about them and they'll despawn after 5 minutes.
text: This is generally longer than desirable, however, which is where the other options come in handy.
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/1719/Invader Skoodge
score: 56
sents: text: You should always keep cobblestone...
text: It's used for a ton of stuff in various forms.
text: You can smelt it into rock, make it into stairs, roads, and, of course, huge fricking floating palaces with skulls that drip lava, etc.
text: Gravel is useful for mining flint, so keep it, then throw it in a hole and mine it again, and again, and again, until you've converted all of it to flint.
text: Dirt is pretty annoying, granted.
text: I tend to keep it because I'll occasionally want to level a lot of terrain in preparation for building something.
text: It's also nice to use in building elevated roads/bridges, because you don't have to use the more valuable cobblestone.
text: I like to use dirt for "lighthouses" (really tall towers with torches on top
text: so you can see where things are) and other disposable structures.
text: Chests are super cheap to make, so there is no reason not to throw the mined dirt/stone/cobblestone in chests whenever you go back to base to make more picks/shovels.
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/479/Satanicpuppy
score: 33
sents: text: There are a few basic ways to ditch this stuff: Throw them into lava (my favorite)
text: Set them on fire by other means
text: Just drop them somewhere and leave them, they'll despawn after 5 minutes Throw them on some cacti!
text: (Thanks @Raven Dreamer)
text: Did I miss any?
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/558/lilserf
score: 10
sents: text: Alternatively, you can try the TooManyItems mod, which lets you 'delete' materials from your inventory screen.
text: Look Here for more information about uses, and setup, and a screenshot that should give you a better understanding of it.
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/3114/GnomeSlice
score: 8
sents: text: Most simple and less time consuming.....throw it off a cliff or into a sea nearby.
text: The items will disappear when 5 minutes have passed.
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/10764/ProSay
score: 4
sents: text: Or alternatively, you can install the Equivalent Exchange mod and shove it all in an energy condenser.
text: Much less wasteful: you get diamonds from it.
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/28911/XxLOLDUDExX
score: 4
sents: text: If you want to lose many items quite quickly you need a bunch of toolboxes and a bucket filled with lava: install toolbox on ground "use" toolbox from as far away as possible
text: fill all 9 nine crafting slots with rubbish you want to get rid of
text: dump the lava and see items disappear collect lava IF(too much rubbish items)
text: THEN GOTO 1.
text: (But I prefer storing them...)
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/7969/mbx
score: 3
sents: text: Shortcut to drop 4 items at a time: open your inventory screen put an item you want to drop in each of your 4 'craft slots' when you close your inventory screen, you'll drop all 4 items
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/6547/Luke
score: 2
sents: text: If you want to do this with a command you could do /gamerule
text: doTileDrops false or /gamerule
text: doTileDrops true to enable and disable the drops.
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/116897/DjScripto
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
Throw them into a pool of lava or fire. You could also just throw them on the ground and they will despawn after 5 minutes. 
While there are many suggested ways to destroy blocks, using ingame techniques, there are few suggestions for plug ins, that might save time.