I have a dead iPad - how do I erase it?

You may not need to pay them to fix it. If you want to go ahead with the crushing, just have them take the battery out. That’s where the chemicals are. Or disassemble it yourself to remove the battery, crush teh rest and recycle the battery. I’m fairly confident you can drop the battery off at Best Buy.

They may even be able to help you in removing the battery, you’d just need to ask if they charge or if they’d just do it for you

Here’s how to erase the data

What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

That would certainly prevent anyone else from ever getting into the data on the device. But if you do want to wipe it clean, you'd have to pay to get it up and running, hence why you'd need to take it to an Apple Store.

Apple will also recycle it for you as well.

GIven the chemicals in the lithium ion battery, I would recommend that you take it into an apple store, tell them that you need it wiped, have them help you remove your info, then they can dispose of it properly. (and you don’t have to worry about flying glass or chemical reactions not to mention haz mat.

Then you'll need to take it your Apple Store Genius Bar and let them tell you the options for service. There is literally nothing we can do to help you get a dead iPad running.

My other recommendation of take it to Apple for recycling won't cost you anything. They'll take care of ensuring your data is wiped safely.

Your company doesn't have a policy against destroying company owned assets?