DIY Chemical Disposal

people often quote the j-300 publication,
unfortunately, it was publshed in 1999,
and in 2005 kodak has changed their tune ...

in a more recent publication " Darkroom Design for Amateur Photographers"
they specifically say to adhere to local regulations ..
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/ak3/ak3.pdf

on the bottom of page 7

"• Properly dispose of photographic processing chemicals
in accordance with local sewer discharge regulations.
Kodak does not recommend the use of septic systems
for disposal of photographic processing chemicals"

I don't think Kodak has changed their tune very much at all. Both documents seem to say much the same things. They seem to reinforce each other.

In fact, this same phrase is printed, word-for-word in both documents: "Kodak does not recommend the use of septic systems for disposal of photographic processing chemicals."

The environmental laws really kick in when you decide to do photography as a business rather than a hobby. The environmental laws are all about $$$ - which is why most household chemicals are exempted and it's only when you operate a business that the rules kick in.

I'm going through this now, as I have given thought to commercializing my photography. The local water company requires full testing of the waste stream, which costs $800, at least once a year. And they will only permit silver levels of 0.005mg/L which is 1,000 times lower than the EPA designation of hazardous. I think they have made a mistake, but they insist not. Interim testing for certain parameters is also required. Although much of photographic waste is not hazardous, the testing is expensive and at the end of the day, there is no practical way to bring silver down to 0.005mg/L, so I will have to find another way to dispose of it (maybe use silver reduction and then mix it with A LOT of developer). EPA rules also forbid dilution as a method of rendering a hazardous substance non-hazardous, so I'd have to have my fixer below 5mg/L before I could mix it with something else.

You end up having to be a lawyer to comply, and I find that the local environmental folks often don't understand the rules themselves. And because the rules focus mainly on concentrations rather than volumes, it is much harder cost-wise for very small businesses to comply than large ones.

Finally -for very small users, Google "Chemgon" Essentially a 5 gallon jug for about $50 that contains sodium polyacrylate - which will turn a pH neutralized fixer into a solid that will not leech silver, and the unit can then be thrown in the garbage. I have no affiliation with them other than to have bought a couple, and they seem to work and the local waste dept ultimately signed off on them.

Oh, and if you are a business, using a septic tank for process waste is illegal.

Sorry to hear about all that harassment by local authorities. Who could have guessed that blix is deadlier than farm fertilizers and Drano (it might well be as bad, but laws and regulations should be consistent if the environmental impact is the same). As for my issues here, my chemist friend suggests that I simply dilute and dispose via a non-septic tank system since my quantities are too small (about 1L in total per month, on average) to justify getting a contract with a waste disposal firm (which she says is a scam in any case)

newcan1 said:

Finally -for very small users, Google "Chemgon" Essentially a 5 gallon jug for about $50 that contains sodium polyacrylate - which will turn a pH neutralized fixer into a solid that will not leech silver, and the unit can then be thrown in the garbage. I have no affiliation with them other than to have bought a couple, and they seem to work and the local waste dept ultimately signed off on them.

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I replied on this matter in post #20.
But just now I understand the idea behind: disposing it as solid waste.

-) Well, being dumped in a landfill this procedure would be environmentally absurd (as landfills as such...)

-) Being incinerated the silver at is best would land in the exhaust filter, otherwise in the sludge and then most probably ending in the environment again.

This being legal shows the absurdity in same waste disposol regulations.

I have been trying to get my head around this issue.
I have got a few bottles of fixer and now whatever way I think of disposing, my head goes 'you're gonna be polluting the environment with the chemicals on an ongoing basis' - I still haven't gotten rid of the full dev - just a bit cos I knew it was spent.

Also, one thing I have noticed is that algae or lichen seem to find the area with a little bit of unwashed chemical as fertile place to grow - I keep the bottles n vessels out in the open, so humidity n temperature are mostly tropical.
So I'm not really sure if disposing down the sewerage is the best idea.
I am definitely not dumping it anywhere near the yard as our place is among the remaining few green spaces around for us and animals around.
So would the best course be turning it into paste n burning?

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analoguey said:

I have been trying to get my head around this issue.
I have got a few bottles of fixer and now whatever way I think of disposing, my head goes 'you're gonna be polluting the environment with the chemicals on an ongoing basis' - I still haven't gotten rid of the full dev - just a bit cos I knew it was spent.

Also, one thing I have noticed is that algae or lichen seem to find the area with a little bit of unwashed chemical as fertile place to grow - I keep the bottles n vessels out in the open, so humidity n temperature are mostly tropical.
So I'm not really sure if disposing down the sewerage is the best idea.
I am definitely not dumping it anywhere near the yard as our place is among the remaining few green spaces around for us and animals around.
So would the best course be turning it into paste n burning?

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

why don't you ask people in your town what you should do with it.
no one on an online forum, unless they live in the same area as you,
will be able to tell you what you should do with your photochems ...

There is a lot of chatter about disposal of the liquids, but what about the eventual disposal of the plastic film and paper prints that will later become waste too?

There are companies that pick up b&w photographic paper and films to reclaim the silver, at least here in Europe. Of course they will not send a truck to you for half a dozen 4x5 sheets. They mostly cater for institutions where large amounts of such materials have to be disposed off.

jnanian said:

why don't you ask people in your town what you should do with it.
no one on an online forum, unless they live in the same area as you,
will be able to tell you what you should do with your photochems ...

Click to expand...

I am not asking about local regulations, am I? So its not local regulations I am looking at.
Those anyway would probably havent been formed for a lab at home kind of thing. I could probably go dispose the stuff in a chemical lab of a school/college, but my question was with respect to the experience that people here have.
Or what they can suggest on the course I am thinking of following.

See post #14.

So far no group established working on that idea.

I have taken chemical waste directly to the nearest sewage treatment plant and dumped it in their treatment ponds, after asking permission and telling them what I'm dumping of course.

laroygreen said:

Good day,

Does anyone know of a good and relatively easy and inexpensive way of safely (for the environment) disposing of C-41 chemistry yourself?

Thanks!

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laroygreen said:

Sorry to hear about all that harassment by local authorities. Who could have guessed that blix is deadlier than farm fertilizers and Drano (it might well be as bad, but laws and regulations should be consistent if the environmental impact is the same). As for my issues here, my chemist friend suggests that I simply dilute and dispose via a non-septic tank system since my quantities are too small (about 1L in total per month, on average) to justify getting a contract with a waste disposal firm (which she says is a scam in any case)

Click to expand...

i wouldn't say they are a scam, they have to deal with the chemicals and are liable for disposing and breaking them down and they give you the paper that says you disposed of
your waste the way you are supposed to dispose of it. besides they give you a 15gallon bucket for you to put the stuff in, at 1L / month it may take you 60months to fill it up
they might charge 120$ so in the end it ends up being 2$/month to pay? it's really not that expensive, even if you are told to dispose of it once a year ...

trickle tanks can also remove the silver from your blix .. as long as the ph is between 5 + 6 you will be OK ...