DIY Film Processing: What do I do with the Fixer?

[wallacem]

Hi all. I'm new to processing my own film and I just did my first roll like this evening (used black and white chems for color, now it's monochrome with a purple hue).

I've read that the fixer is SUPER DANGEROUS to let out to the environment and that we should send to photolabs filter the silver and stuff. So I asked the photolab guy and he said screw it and just use it one shot and pour down the toilet, don't be so serious about it. I love the Earth too much to take that risk and so I ask: WHAT DO I DO WITH THE FIXER?

Please help me 'cause I don't like some funky smelling stuff in my toilet and my dog goes in and come out retarded from smelling it AND I don't want to live in a Singapore where I single-handedly cause to become some I AM LEGEND movie landscape.

 

[one eye jack]

Hi, The mods will move your post to traditional darkroom.This has been discussed there.You are a small time pollutor compared to industrial bigboys and the type of waste water system in singapore can handle small amounts
of such toxins.Just pour it down the sink.We are all in the muck anyway so don't feel that guilty. More details in post given below.
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/traditional-darkroom/1068982-disposing-used-fixer.html

 

[catchlights]

Just pour down the toilet is fine.
If fixer is that toxic, it will be a control item already.
If you are that serious about this, how about call up NEA to ask them how to dispose fixer?


thread moved.

 

[losheng]

I've read that the fixer is SUPER DANGEROUS to let out to the environment and that we should send to photolabs filter the silver and stuff. So I asked the photolab guy and he said screw it and just use it one shot and pour down the toilet, don't be so serious about it. I love the Earth too much to take that risk and so I ask: WHAT DO I DO WITH THE FIXER?

Check with another photo lab, especially those that have the machines that use wet chemicals to develop their prints. They have silver recovery guys coming over to pick up their used bleach and fix. Some newer labs use the dry lab systems, which are inkjet based, and they probably won't have regular pickups from silver recovery companies.

ls

 

[Achim Reh]

You should not put the old fixer down the toilet not because it is so toxic, but , because the silver will cause the bacteria in modern biological water treatments facilities to die , and this causes a real big and expensive damage. You can remove the silver yourself with Natrium-Dithionit, however, I am not sure if you can get this in singapore.

 

[wallacem]

You should not put the old fixer down the toilet not because it is so toxic, but , because the silver will cause the bacteria in modern biological water treatments facilities to die , and this causes a real big and expensive damage. You can remove the silver yourself with Natrium-Dithionit, however, I am not sure if you can get this in singapore.

wa like that abit complicated lei. but generally the idea i am getting here is that it is SAFE to let it down the drain? because currently i am doing one shots of fixers. I not reusing any.

 

[Benji77]

wa like that abit complicated lei. but generally the idea i am getting here is that it is SAFE to let it down the drain? because currently i am doing one shots of fixers. I not reusing any.

Ermmm...you dont reuse it? Now that is not only a waste, but you end up polluting more!
Fixer solutions can be used about 12-15 times!

 

[losheng]

You can setup a very simple replenishing system to save on chemical cost and pollution:

1. Check the technical info sheet:
Ilford Technical Information - Ilford Hypam Fixer
Under the replenishment section, note that you only need to replenish 45ml of working strength fixer (ie. after diluting 1+4 from the concentrate) after fixing each roll of 135 film.
2. Save your used film fixer into a 1-L or 2-L bottle. Label it 'Used Film Fixer'.
3. When preparing the fixer for your next development, prepare 45ml of fresh working strength fixer for every roll of film you are going to processed. e.g 2 rolls will only need 90ml of working strength fixer (made from only 18ml of concentrate).
4. Top up this fresh working strength fixer with the used fixer from the 'Used Film Fixer' bottle to the working volume of your processing tank. E.g. the Paterson tank requires about 300ml for every roll of 135 film.
5. If the 'Used Film Fixer' is about to get full, dump an equivalent volume as the freshly made fixer into another bottle, labeled "Dumped Fixer". This is the bottle that you can take it to the mini-labs for silver recovery when it gets full. Since you only need to dump 45ml of used fixer per every developed roll, even a 1-L bottle will hold enough dumped fixer for 20 rolls of processed films. If you do only 1-2 rolls per month, it will take you 10 months before you need to worry about proper disposal.
6. After developing and fixing your newly processed films, pour the used fixer into the 'Used Film Fixer' bottle for your next session.

This is a better system than simply reusing the same bottle of working strength fixer. It maintains a constant quality of the fixer, thus keeping the fixing time constant, so you don't have to depend on guess work to know if the used fixer is still of sufficient strength.

 

[heshanj]

i asked this same question not long ago, and the consensus was to just dump down the drain, such small quantities are no big deal. and yes, like others said already, dont dump ur fixer after one use. can be used many times, a dozen times or more if u wanna try. and think about it, a single roll developing takes about 350ml - so for 12 rolls, disposing just 350ml of fixer isnt so bad, i guess.. how often do u develop? if ur like me, ud probably do less than that in a month, so i dont think its a big deal either. after a bit more research, i find that its pretty ok to dump it down the drain, u wont be damaging environment too much!

 

[Riotbmx]

I would ask around to see if any of my friends are secondary sch chemistry teacher, they can prolly dump it together with the stuff they need to dispose

 

[gbealnz]

Being as tight as I am, I often use "old" fixer diluted a bit as a stop bath. Then dump it.
Gary

 

[nstclicks]

You should not put the old fixer down the toilet not because it is so toxic, but , because the silver will cause the bacteria in modern biological water treatments facilities to die , and this causes a real big and expensive damage. You can remove the silver yourself with Natrium-Dithionit, however, I am not sure if you can get this in singapore.

You can use any alkali to preciptate out the silver, but then you would have to filter it out and dispose of it in the trash, which then gets incinerated. Even if you just pour used fixer down the sink (with plenty of diliution) , it will still get precipitated out as sludge in the sewage treatment, and again will be incinerated and the ash will end up at Pulau Semakau. Same difference. Whatever effect fixer might have on a sewage treatment plant is probably no worse from that of many household cleaners.

 

[crispy12]

Ermmm...you dont reuse it? Now that is not only a waste, but you end up polluting more!
Fixer solutions can be used about 12-15 times!

Yah I reuse my fixer a lot. Still on my first bottle of Ilford Rapid Fix.

 

[wallacem]

wow i love the info i am getting here. cause i personally think it will be a bit of a hassle to save it and store it so I do it one shot, but now i see it as an environmental responsibility to do so.If it is really true that I will pollute more I think I should go with one shot. And also, I think it will be a bit too mad scientist to try and precipitate the silver out. Next thing you know I'm in the jewelry business. But I really do appreciate all of your feedbacks and I thank you guys sincerely for helping me even though this question should've bored you. LOSHENG, you are probably a godsend to all the newbies here. Thank you for the extra mile.

By the way to answer HESHANJ, I develop probably 2-5 rolls in a month. But mostly 2 cause I'm still a young student/pre-enlistee who still isin't earning enough to support my passion. My leica m2 took a big bite....

 

[Benji77]

To save $$ you can do these too

• Reuse Developers for 3 rolls. Meaning a 500ml (double 35mm) will complete 6 rolls of film, regardless of film speed
• Use a notebook of number of rolls you do, thereby calculating Fixer strength. Once you clock 12 rolls, you can either do a top-up or throw
• Soak your films during the final rinse instead of flushing/changing water
• Keep the final rinse to flush your toilet bowl

 

[Riotbmx]

Sorry to hijack the thread. Anyone wanna share chemicals? I'm sure there are people who follow this thread who wanna start developing their own B&W neg like me too

 

[Shadowleong]

Share chemicals? For beginner best go to ruby photo and buy the starter kit, inside got everything

 

[sfoto100]

Sorry to hijack the thread. Anyone wanna share chemicals? I'm sure there are people who follow this thread who wanna start developing their own B&W neg like me too

U hv bottles? I can give u half of my dev n fixer ...

 

[heshanj]

By the way to answer HESHANJ, I develop probably 2-5 rolls in a month. But mostly 2 cause I'm still a young student/pre-enlistee who still isin't earning enough to support my passion. My leica m2 took a big bite....

thats around how much i develop too, haha. i think it should be fine to dispose urself..

 

[Shadowleong]

To save cost you might want to look at bulk rollling your favorite film