fix disposal in sf?

jss · Apr 3, 2006

sf folks,
how do you dispose of your spent fixer? since i moved, i've been storing it. i cant store any more, i need to get rid of it. who do i call, where do i take it?

thanks always --
jason

Loose Gravel · Apr 3, 2006

How much are you talking about? 5 gallons? Take it to the local toxic waste day. 50 gallons? Call a lab and ask what they do or consider removing the silver yourself. This can be done with steel wool or with reclaiming machines (electrolysis). Once you get the silver out, dump it down the drain or take it to a town with sewage treatment and dump it down the drain. Remember that all of SF sewage and street runoff goes right to the ocean. Nice.

jss · Apr 3, 2006

i think i can answer my own question. the answer is, take it to sunset scavenge. they are in south san francisco.
free for city residents, up to 15 gallons per visit. open 8-4 thu, fri, sat.
http://www.sfrecycling.com/sfhhw/facility.htm

sionnac · Apr 4, 2006

LG - how is it done with steel wool?

wildbill · Apr 4, 2006

The toxic part, silver, collects on the the steel wool after a period of time. That's how i've been doing it here for 2 years. Once the fixer is clear, i dump it and throw the silver glob in the trash. It's okay until you run out of space and steel wool.

Aggie · Apr 4, 2006

After you do the steel wool bit to get the silver out, combine the developer stop and fix. They nuetralize each other out and you get chemical salts. It is also the best lawn fertilizer you can get. At this point it doesn't hurt a thing to dump it on your lawn or down the drain.

What i find most amusing is having lived in Park City Utah, the drinking water right out of the tap has more silver in it than what I get out of my fix.

Wayne · Apr 4, 2006

Aggie said:
After you do the steel wool bit to get the silver out, combine the developer stop and fix. They nuetralize each other out and you get chemical salts. It is also the best lawn fertilizer you can get. At this point it doesn't hurt a thing to dump it on your lawn or down the drain.

Its also illegal so make sure you have someone to bail you out of jail. And uh..dont call me.

Wayne

Aggie · Apr 4, 2006

Not illegal. In fact the school I went to last does this all the time, located in Pleasant Hill California. As for the who told me about this, it was a chemical engineer who is also a photographer, named Bruce Barnbaum.

Wayne · Apr 4, 2006

I'd be willing to bet that IF there is a single state in which dumping used photo chemicals on the ground is NOT illegal, that state is not California. I would be very surprised to find otherwise.

Wayne

Aggie · Apr 5, 2006

Contact any college and or university in California that has a phtography department. They take out the silver then mix the spent chemistyr and down the drain it goes. Unless it has changed in the last 6 months they still do it. Once the B&W chems have been mixed they are no more harmful than vinegar. Creating a climate of fear and false information on this will not change it. Pyro chems oxidize rapidly and once they have are inert. Color chemistry is another matter. That has some nasty stuff in it. Jason uses B&W chems. BTW I lived across the bay from where he lives near Berkeley. Now you want the ultra hyper paranoid environment that was it.

removed account4 · Apr 5, 2006

Wayne said:
Its also illegal so make sure you have someone to bail you out of jail. And uh..dont call me.

Wayne

thank you wayne!

where i live ( in rhode island ) if there is more than 3parts/million silver (they can't test below that ) you can get in a lot of trouble dumping down the drain. in providence, if you pour 5parts/million you are eligible for a fine up to $10,000 / day you do it - commercial/hobbiest alike.
a lot of schools and universities dump photochemistry (or used to) down the drain because they "don't know any better" or they don't feel they generate enough waste for it to matter, or they feel they are exempt because they are not a commercial enterprise.

yes, it is true that spent fixer is made into a fertalizer, but they have to treat it first. places like itronics convert fixer into fertalizer.

jason, you might contact itronics to see if they have a photo-place in your area they pick up from. i had tried to have them take my fixer, but it wasn't cost effictive to ship it to nevade from rhode island. instead i have a waste hauler give me a 30 gallon drum and he picks it up about one time ever year/year and 1/2. i get a nice dinner+bottle of wine our of it when the check for my silver comes in the mail, and i don't have any "photographer's guilt" to justify ...
just the same, it is probably easier to take it to your local household waste drop off than deal with the red tape i have to deal with.

good luck!

-john

avandesande · Apr 5, 2006

A cubic mile of seawater has 5,000 pounds of silver in it.

Wayne · Apr 5, 2006

Aggie said:
Contact any college and or university in California that has a phtography department. They take out the silver then mix the spent chemistyr and down the drain it goes. Unless it has changed in the last 6 months they still do it. Once the B&W chems have been mixed they are no more harmful than vinegar. Creating a climate of fear and false information on this will not change it. Pyro chems oxidize rapidly and once they have are inert. Color chemistry is another matter. That has some nasty stuff in it. Jason uses B&W chems. BTW I lived across the bay from where he lives near Berkeley. Now you want the ultra hyper paranoid environment that was it.

All I did was state that I believe dumping chemicals on the ground is illegal, I dont see anything "ultra-paranoid" or anything that creates "a climate of fear" in that.

Wayne

jeffneedham · Apr 5, 2006

the police are on their way. they'll overlook the crack house a few doors down, and bust through the door to your your darkroom, guns drawn and with a k9 unit trained in silver detection.

Markok765 · Aug 3, 2006

jeffneedham said:
the police are on their way. they'll overlook the crack house a few doors down, and bust through the door to your your darkroom, guns drawn and with a k9 unit trained in silver detection.

hope they dont expose your print!

b1bmsgt · Aug 4, 2006

Not that I would do such a thing, of course, but how would anyone find out what you pour down your drain?

Russ

fix disposal in sf?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency