Developing Black and White Film at Home

Step 9 Fixer

Add the fixer to the tank. Agitate the tank continuously for 30 seconds. Dump out the fixer under running water.

Comments

[jephey]

WARNING: It is dangerous and illegal to pour fixer down the drain! It contains silver which is dangerous to people and wildlife! If you have a septic tank this is a definite no-no.

What can I do?!
Pour your used fixer and developer into a container (with a lid) that can be easily transported by automobile. Take the container to a photo lab (or even a pharmacy with a one-hour lab) and ask the lab tech for it to be dumped in the Waste or Silver Recovery unit. Don't ask a cashier! If you can, call ahead and ask for the lab supervisor.

If they ask questions:
Say you do your film at home, that it should be safe to pour in, they can ask their supervisor, and it's more money for them because of the silver it contains. The people aren't giving you a hard time, there is often all sorts of warning signs about mixing chlorine/bleach containing chemicals, with another type of chemical, that is all Greek to them. Be patient and let them double check, it's worth it for the environment.

Why?
The unit at professional labs zaps the waste with electricity and using magnets collects the silver and the rest goes down the drain. Not only does the silver not make it into the water supply, it is saved in large canisters which are picked up for recycling!

In the United States: Both Federal and State government agencies regulate the handling and disposal of photographic chemicals. For more info on proper disposal of photographic chemicals, see here (PDF).

[jakebaldwin]

Bumping an old comment, sorry about that.

It isn't only fixer that's dangerous. Any chemicals used in the process should be handled this way. The developer itself washes away chemicals with it, and even if you use an eco-friendly developer, the chemicals it washes away will make it just as bad for the bay as your standard chem developer. Unfortunately, I learned this after dumping a few gallons of used Caffenol into the gutter.

Good comment, by the way. I was a little shocked seeing such a nice Instructable with pictures of the author pouring everything he used down the sink.

[dqvid]

@jephey: thanks for this information! now if only there were a way to promote it to the top...

[jeoncs]

This was a great help thanks a ton!

[christydeering]

Most commercial fixers want you to fix for at least 2 minutes. Is 30 seconds really enough? My film always fogs if I skimp on this step.

[greyhathacker45]

NH-5 is a rapid fixer without hardener. According to the instructions, 30 seconds is sufficient, but you could go up to about 5 minutes without problems. I've never had problems with the film clearing in 30 seconds with NH-5.

[christydeering]

awesome! that's good to hear.