darkroom chemical disposal

Hello,
I live out in the boondocks and have a septic system; that is a septic tank and underground drain fields. Are there any highly diluted photo chemicals that I should avoid putting into this system? If so what do other people do with their nasties?
charlie

I've arranged for the local lab to take mine. They get the silver.

There are numerous long threads about this topic already.

You should first check as to whether you have local laws that may require that chemicals go to a hazardous waste collection point. Most people who put chemistry down the drain whether they're on a sewer or septic system avoid dumping spent fixer and some toners for example, selenium.

Once again, developer is okay in small quantities, as is stop bath. You put far worse household chems down the drain. Fixer is a different story. In small quantities it should be alright, but I would err on the side of safety here, and store it for silver removal then dispose of the leftovers. Once the silver has been recovered it is (theoretically)inert. I put my spent fixer in a bucket with a chunk of steel wool, and let it evaporate. What's left goes in the recycling bin.

About the used fixer . . . one might need to be careful on a septic tank system as the fixer contains silver compounds which can be anti-bacterial in action, and the septic-tank depends on bacteria to do its job. The amount and concentration of fixer and the size of the septic-tank also figure highly of course! Two rolls of 35mm film every six months might have a negligible effect, while thirty 16x20 prints per day will be quite different.

Selenium toner can be filtered and replenished easily and successfully - simply don't throw it away.

feel free to read my signature

the solution to pollution is dilution.

RalphLambrecht said:

the solution to pollution is dilution.

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And if one looks at the bigger picture, dilution can be considered the functionally equivalent opposite of mining, which is really nothing more than the systematic extraction and concentration of desired materials from their naturally occurring state in the earth.

Unmined silver ore in the ground is nothing more than naturally occurring diluted silver metal in the ground.

Companies dig it out of holes in that ground called mines, concentrate it, and sell it to Ilford. Darkroom workers use some of it, then re-dilute the remainder and return it right back into holes in the ground called septic tanks.

And the rest of it? The part that got used?

Your wife tells you how much she likes your silver prints. Then you die. Your wife breathes a big sigh of relief and immediately throws all of your silver prints (and darkroom equipment, sorry...) into the trash.

Trucks then carry it all to a sanitary landfill where... it's thrown into a big hole in the ground.

Ken

With a septic tank Id not dump MQ or fixer.

You could use Rodinal 1:100 and silver recovery for film if you wet print a phenodine and ascorbic developer.

Id use hypo clear as well.

you share the environment with the lower guys.

Xmas said:

you share the environment with the lower guys.

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DING DING DING!

Dear charlie,

I am on a septic field and I don't put anything down other than wash water. Of course I have the advantage of living in a large metropolitan area. This might help you.

Good luck,

Neal Wydra

I worked in a darkroom on a septic system for years. Spent developer and stop were mixed and diluted and sent down the drain, as was wash water. Never any problems. Developer has a bit of an oxygen demand, so make sure your system is big enough to handle the extra load.

The ideal situation for fixer is silver recovery. I used to take mine to a local photo lab, which was happy to take it since they got the silver... They have gone now. The hazmat people do not do silver recovery; they just incinerate everything. Jnanians silver magnet would be my choice for a home solution. Fixer with the silver removed can be disposed of in the septic system.

As mentioned, selenium toners can be replenished and reused. If you are clever, you will never have to dispose of anything but some developer, stop and de-silvered fix. A good septic system should handle that just fine.

Oh, so search here and for Kodak tech pub J-300.

Best,

Doremus

Doremus Scudder said:

The ideal situation for fixer is silver recovery. I used to take mine to a local photo lab, which was happy to take it since they got the silver... They have gone now.
Doremus

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Another place that may have an interest in your fixer is a local school or university that still has a film course(s). I take 2-3 gallons of spent fixer and first rinse at a time to the art school of the University of Akron, OH, who combine it with fixer from their three 34 enlarger darkrooms and run it through their silver reclaiming equipment. It helps the environment and the silver helps pay for some of the maintenance on the program.

As you can imagine, film courses are fewer and fewer now.

I also live in the country with a well & septic system. We just have a little more water running by.

John Powers