Recycling Photographs

I googled the question: Can I recycle photographs?
This is the answer I got from The Times Online by Anna Shepard. I liked her options to the problem, but do not agree to her thinking that film is dead. I love film more than anything, but we all get those crappy shots that are way too dark or too light, and if you pay someone else to develop your film you know that it is more expensive to get a couple of shots developed rather than the whole roll. So in my guilt of adding something to the trash I questioned what else could I do with these? This is what she had to say.

February 23, 2008

Can I recycle old photographs?

Anna Shepard Eco-Worrier

Recommend?

Q Is it OK to put old photographs in the paper recycling?

A No. Much like wrapping paper and the Yellow Pages, photographs cause problems at paper mills. In this case it is the chemicals used in the paper and the thin layer of polythene that coats a photo to stop it going wrinkly when it dries. These are classified as contaminants and clog up the recycling process.

My council suggested that I chuck them in my normal bin. But from my Google searches, which led me to frugal forums such as moneysavingexpert.com and recyclethis.co.uk , I have learnt that many people are opposed to chucking photographs in principle. They believe that there may come a time when a grandchild will be enthralled to flick through photos of any quality, even those of the back of people’s heads. I’m not so sure. I say cut them out and have a grand collage-making session; especially good if you have children – limbs and faces can be joined up to hilarious effect. Or you could try the old trick of turning them into a notebook to keep by the phone. This will depend on whether the reverse of the photo can be written on (some you may find to be too shiny for a ballpoint pen). Simply turn the photos over and staple the left-hand corner a couple of times.

With the digital age in full swing, piles of photos gathering dust will soon be a thing of the past. As we trade our traditional film-based cameras for skinny digital models, there will be less photographic waste. Films and the little capsules they came in will no longer lurk around the house. Instead we will be busy editing our photos on our laptops, maybe even airbrushing the odd blemish while we’re at it.