How do you dipose of your Fixer?

[ozphoto]

When I managed a local KMart lab, I used to take mine in and pour into the silver reticulator they had fitted; no bother at all, as it is easy enough to do, plus they got the silver.

Since leaving, I now have a large 25L container, that gets filled with exhausted fixer and when full, my mechanic is happy to send it for disposal along with his waste.

I'd love to get a silver magnet actually, just never done enough research to choose a suitable model. . . .

 

[E. von Hoegh]

I drink mine!

Jeff

Has anyone thought of adding a bit of sugar and putting it in a hummingbirdfeeder?

 

[revdocjim]

So I'll go out on a limb and admit my ignorance. What is the main problem with dumping it down the drain? Exactly how toxic or hazardous is it? I've always treated it just like my spent developer and stop bath, not knowing any better. Of course, there is a lot less fixer to dispose of since I reuse it many times before disposing.

Recently I mixed up a 5 liter batch of Kodak fixer and used it for something like 4 months and 26 rolls of 120 film. I never used more than 500ml at a time and then just dumped it back into the 5 liter jug. I was amazed that it continued to work just fine. I only dumped it because I was leaving the U.S. to return to Japan. I guess there was probably a pretty good amount of silver in that jug by the time I was done.

So, how much do you get for the silver dust if you extract it? I suppose the first question is how many rolls do you have to develop to even pay for the silver magnet? Or is the primary reason for extracting silver environmental?

 

[revdocjim]

OK. I found the other thread and read thru a few pages of it. Now I have a slightly better idea what we're talking about and certainly don't want to stir another hornet's nest...

 

[HTF III]

Most of it is environmental madness. A small portion is common sense. Unfortunately that particular portion does not even enter into it. It's the gobbledegook they're filling up schoolchildren's heads with. Turns them into militants. Do what you think is right. If you think you are actually generating some big-time poison, then dispense with it appropriately. A gallon of fixer down the drain every year is less in the scheme of things is less than peeing in your swim trunks in the ocean.

 

[removed account4]

hi revdocjim

there can be upto 1/4 oz of silver in a gallon of spent fixer.
its mainly the silver in the fixer that isn't good to go down the drain.
if you have metal pipes it may corrode them if done for a long enough time ...
and the silver likes to kill off beneficial bacteria in home septic and municipal sewer systems.
25+ years ago kodak used to say to just drain it because it posed no problems but they now
say not to dump it down the drain and to remove the silver from it ...

don't worry about a hornet's nest HFT III likes to assume different user names
and go on and on about politics ...
in a previous thread he said spent fixer was harmless, but later he added
he used it as a herbicide on his property.
i hope he gets his well water tested

if you have any magnet questions &c feel free to PM me
i sell them as well as other stuff to recover the silver in your fixer.

 

[RPC]

Home darkrooms have been around for many, many years, all over the world. Considering that, one might find plenty of cases of harm to sewage disposal and septic systems and the environment from home darkrooms, if it actually does happen. Does anyone know of any actual cases where harm to a sewer system or septic system has been attributed to photographic solutions being poured down a drain from a small, home darkroom? Or harm to the environment or groundwater?

 

[removed account4]

Home darkrooms have been around for many, many years, all over the world. Considering that, one might find plenty of cases of harm to sewage disposal and septic systems and the environment from home darkrooms, if it actually does happen. Does anyone know of any actual cases where harm to a sewer system or septic system has been attributed to photographic solutions being poured down a drain from a small, home darkroom? Or harm to the environment or groundwater?

actually i do know someone.
they were in rehoboth mass. they ruined their septic system by dumping photochemials into it: it cost thousands to repair.
before they set up their darkroom they had the whole system pumped and checked and their perk / leachfield checked everything was perfect.
within a few years they were scewed...

and i also know someone else who was fined about $100,000.00 for not complying with local regulations.

the local laws are different no matter where you go. it is best to find out where you live what is right for your situation.
( me? i live in a place where the rules are very strict and i obey them. )
the funnything is there are always people who claim all sorts of nonsense, especially on online fora.
a bunch of years ago there was someone here on apug, who claimed she was a chemist &c, and then claimed
that selenium toner was harmless ( even though the packaging suggests different ) because there
are trace amounts of selenium in multi vitamins.

just watch dr house to realize there is selenium in brazil nuts too, but if you eat too many brazil nuts
you will get sick with something that looks like cancer or radiation poisoning ... and the best cure for it
is a tea made of the larvae from some sort of bug ....

that might work for selenium poising ...
i don't think there is a larva you can flush down your drain to counteract the affects silver ( other than not dumping it ).

YMMV

 

[HTF III]

jnanian is an advertiser here, and a supporter. I have nothing to say against him. The topic is disposing of used fixer. Do what you think is right. I have no further comment.As I have seen, an advertiser can cancel your account.

 

[RPC]

jnanian, I will take your word for it but I would prefer to see some sort of case histories that are documented. I have never seen any in any of the photographic literature. Personally I have been pouring my chemistry down the drain for years and my county requires septic systems to be inspected every three years and I have had no problems (you'll have take my word on that). Of course, YMMV.

 

[removed account4]

RPC

i wish i could give you the names but for privacy reasons i won't.

you are lucky your system can handle your situation ...

 

[eclarke]

Overthinking...

 

[Existing Light]

Has anyone thought of adding a bit of sugar and putting it in a hummingbirdfeeder?

You mean, not everyone does that? Seriously, though, I just dump mine in my neighbors garden :wizard:

 

[revdocjim]

So I wonder how much silver was in that 5 liter jug of fixer that I recently threw out. I developed more than 25 rolls of 120 film in it!

 

[fotch]

Reminds me of the arguments regard seat belts or motorcycle helmets.

 

[wblynch]

So, silver comes from the ground but can't go back in... ?

 

[Existing Light]

So, silver comes from the ground but can't go back in... ?

I've got an uncle that tells me the same thing about used motor oil as he pours the container of used oil on his fire pit in his back yard every time I help him change his oil

 

[wblynch]

So if I lose my ring it will pollute the Earth?

 

[removed account4]

So if I lose my ring it will pollute the Earth?

it really depends who you talk to

 

[MattKing]

So if I lose my ring it will pollute the Earth?

Depends if you are Sauron.

 

[polyglot]

So I wonder how much silver was in that 5 liter jug of fixer that I recently threw out. I developed more than 25 rolls of 120 film in it!

25 rolls is only 25% of the capacity of 5L of (rapid) fixer at working (1+4) dilution; no need to throw it out just yet!

It can get up to about 7g/L (starts to slow right down) so yours probably had about 1g/L in there, or $3.75 worth at $24/oz. Plus or minus a factor of at least two depending on your choice of film and how heavily it was exposed.

 

[polyglot]

So, silver comes from the ground but can't go back in... ?

There's a pretty big difference between metallic silver, silver ions in concentrated solution and silver salts physically mixed with rocks. If you don't believe me, dump some metallic sodium on your dinner next time instead of table salt...

 

[Mackinaw]

Last summer, I tried something new, I evaporated it. I poured about a gallon of used fixer into a flat pan and stuck that outside so it would be exposed to the hot, summer sun. It took a few weeks, but the liquid finally evaporated leaving behind a white residue. I scraped that up, stuck it in a bag, and deposited in my trash. From there it went to a landfill. For me, problem solved.

Jim B.

 

[HTF III]

Suggested reading: "The Cat In the Hat Comes Back".

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

So, silver comes from the ground but can't go back in... ?

Up in my attic I have a small hand sample-sized rock containing native mecury. It looks very similar to these photos. It's a vestigal remnant of my time decades ago as a field geologist. We all collected interesting rocks and minerals. I believe mercury is the only mineral that occurs in Nature as a liquid.

Is my attic now a Superfund site?

If I tossed it into my backyard, will I go to jail?

:eek:

Ken