Has anyone used Safety-Kleen to get rid of chemistry?

The darkroom is getting closer to becoming a reality and I am looking for ways to dispose of spent chemistry without putting it into my septic system and ultimately into the Edwards Aquifer.

Safety-Kleen.com is one place recommended by Kodak for labs to get rid of chemistry. Has anyone had any experience with them or others for low volume disposal of black and white chemistry? Regardless of where you live, I'd be interested in hearing your experience. If you live in the Austin/San Antonio corridor I'd be very interested in specific service providers. Safety-Kleen does have a San Antonio office, which I will contact. Bill Barber

We used to use safety clean (we are a large printing company) but they have fallen on hard times financially. They owed us like $1,200 dollars for several years. They filed for protection at one point and were bought out or sold or something at another. They eventually paid part of their debt and we stopped doing business with them. If you are paying to get rid of your chemicals it probably doesn't matter. You could always buy an X-Rite machine and reclaim it yourself, then they or whoever you choose would buy the silver right from you. It's a pain but it works.

I'm not opposed to recovering the silver from spent fixer, however I'm more concerned with what I put in the ground which will eventually end up in my water supply. I doubt, as a low volume user, that personal recover would be a good idea. The affect of the chemicals on the septic system is also an issue. Bill Barber

Barnbaum just runs his chemicals out over his lawn. The grass loves it and since he is a major tree hugger I am sure he researched the issue prior to doing this.

I've used Safety Kleen through the Marlboro, MA office. They aren't too good with book-keeping, but aren't bad overall (I was double-billed and it took them a long time to straighten it out). I don't think they are the cheapest, but I've paid about $100 per 16 gallon bucket and it takes me from 6 months to a year to fill it.
I have septic where my darkroom is, so that was why I did it, too. I doubt I'd ever recover enough silver to make it worthwhile to do it myself.

Hi, your local municipality may have a hazardous waste disposal for free, which you might want to try, rather than using a commercial service.

Jon

Hi, your local municipality may have a hazardous waste disposal for free, which you might want to try, rather than using a commercial service.

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That's worth asking, but I know in my town they limit how much you can take to the drop-off, it still isn't free, they give out a limited number of tickets, and it's only once a year.

i use a local waste hauler, and have been for about 5 years ...
besides having a 15 gallon drum, i also have a iron core trickle tank for
wash water. i too am on septic and i too worry about my "stuff" going into
the nearby stream and then into the cove. we have a delicate ecosystem
here, not just trees, lots of other stuff. the guy i use fills out the paper
work for me and charges me about $100 to take the fluid away. he hasn't
exchanged my tank yet ....

in the olde days ( read: a few years ago ) i would get a check from my
silver, now there is no check, but at least i don't need to worry about
nasty stuff in the ground because of me ...
they have drop off places near to me, but like bethe said, it isn't open all the
time, and i am pretty much excluded because it is more than just a
hobby ...

you might find out at a local lab what they do, or see if your local photo
supply store takes in spent chemistry ... i know before i mentioned to a
BIG photofinisher/portrait house that i was more than just a hobbiest, they
were gonna let me bring my stuff down and they would take care of it for
me, and in places like chicago some of the stores used to let people bring
their chemistry back to them used --- or at least they used to ...

you might also check out http://www.itronics.com/
they purify and convert spent chemistry into fertilizer.
i originally wanted to send them my stuff, but nevada is a long way away
from ri, and they don't have a local presence yet ...

good luck!
john