Disposing of Old, Unused Chemicals.

My wife's grandfather past away not long ago and in the process of cleaning out his basement we have found alot of

various photographic chemicals. They all seem to be unused but as that her grandfather was not actively doing any

photo development and many of the chemicals are in the same boxes with old metal film canisters i'm assuming that

it is all rather old. What is the best way to dispose of this material and/or who should i contact about disposal?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

They may be collectibles. Folks like the old Kodak chemicals in yellow cans. (Those are probably still perfectly good if unopened.)

 

It should be easy to find a Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for most of them, which will include a discussion of hazards, and should have disposal information.

 

Powdered B&W developers and fixers should be safe to dispose of in household trash. Fixer is only noxious when used, the silver it removes from film is what is considered a pollutant. The main ingredient of powdered fixers is also used in swimming pools.

 

There are some single chemicals (not used in mormal developers, stop baths, or fixers) which are hazardous. So do look each of those up. Simple web search with the name of the chemical, and MSDS, should be very easy.

I would expect to find toners and other less common chemicals with this group

these, if in the original containers, will have a poison label.

care should be taken with these.

Kodak made a redeveloper packet for B&W reversal processing that could cause great mischef if opened in a photo

lab or camera store. be sure whoever gets this is responsible. ( yes I have some)

 

as said developers and fixers are not particularly hazordus.

sodium carbonate is a normal household chemical

 

as said let someone sell the chemicals in undamaged cans on an auction site.. they will be either used properly,

 

of kept as shelf decorations and not cause pollution.

 

see if there is a mature individual at a camera club.

If they are in unopeded packets, I, and many others, would be willing to buy them, if they are in cans, the any others will help you out. Try the online auction site. As for metal film canisters, I would love to get my hands on some of these as they could be great for transporting IR film, i think.

Your city may have a household waste disposal program. Check your city's online webpage with services or call them up. I get notices for periodic disposal for such items in my water/trash bill. First, as some have stated, you may have some worthy items so, why not list a manifest of them here for feedback of what to just dispose and what may be of interest of someone else to aquire.

A local lab went through hoops to dispose of a very small amount of formalin in color print stabilizer, they ended up

paying a hazmat crew hundreds of bucks to wash about an ounce of chemistry out in the parking lot in a 50 gallon

drum.

 

Meanwhile, I was talking to the local one hour, they are putting everything down the drain, and dumping rolls of

outdated color paper all the time. They have their paper drop shipped, and never seem to coordinate need and

purchase.

 

I pulled the most dangerous stuff out of the school lab, (oxidizers) marked it for disposal, and finally two years later,

put it on the boss' desk, with a sign, "do not drop".

 

He called the BOE who sent Moron No. 2, who dumped the stuff in his trunk and drove it to the high school, who ten

years later disposed of it properly. Was the same stuff the feds look for, and would put your A%% in jail at an

airport. IOW, it was dangerous, and BOE Moron transported 20 lbs. of it illegally, no sign, no permit.

 

When some problem arose at another school, the new boss, paid haz-mat fees to dispose of dextrose, and corn

starch, and everything else, end of chemistry in the middle school.

 

Thank goodness much of what your relative's collection is more than likely fairly harmless, I would not like to dump

too much in to a septic system, nor would I put it in a storm drain.

 

If you care to make a list, am sure the good folks here can help you sort it out. I believe most photo chemistry was

pretty stable, if you are sensitive, you might get a rash, though I would not care to mix it all together indoors, and if

you are still concerned, I would think the folks at the local Fire Department might help you out on a slow day.

 

As I have mentioned before, Flinn Scientific has been kind enough to list pages and pages of the official line on

chemicals in their catalog, if you wish to research some of these.

 

Most can be posted to some of our members to be used in their intended manner, larger amounts of some, such as

Rodinal, cannot be easily shipped.

 

And finally, for those still awake, check with the local schools, they may be able to use the stuff in their photography

program. Lots of way to skin this cat. What ever you do, it sounds as if you are headed in the right direction.

Regards, John

Thank you all for you help. When I gather up all the materials I will place a list here and maybe a few pictures.

Dennis, feel free to post a classified ad (free on photo.net) in the appropriate section or contact interested persons directly. You may also attach small JPEGs of the materials here on this thread, but only for information purposes and with the understanding that the discussion forums are not for advertising.