Waste Directory ("Yellow Book")

Used fixer and bleach-fixer solutions contain high concentrations of silver (3,000-8,000 parts per million [ppm]). Because of these high silver levels, used fixer is a hazardous waste, and fixer solutions cannot be poured down the drain or into a septic system. The following solutions are hazardous: spent fixer from X-ray development and spent fixer, bleach, bleach-fixer and stabilizer from photoprocessing. These solutions must go through a silver recovery process or be handled as hazardous waste. Once the silver in the solution has been reduced to three ppm through silver recovery, the fixer can go into King County's sanitary sewer. (Your local sewer utility may have different requirements.)

You have a number of options for handling spent fixer and other silver-bearing photo solutions:

• Return it to the company that sells you photoprocessing chemicals.
• Send fixer to an outside facility for silver recovery. (See list below.)
• Buy or lease your own treatment unit to reclaim fixer. Be sure your treated fixer meets the limits set by your sewer utility. Wastewater with silver at concentrations greater than five ppm is considered hazardous waste. Your regional or local sewer district may have stricter limits (e.g., three ppm for King County sewers) for discharging wastewater. If you purchase your own unit, two chemical recovery cartridges in series are needed. Electrolytic recovery units alone won't meet discharge limits. A booklet, A Guide for Photo Processors (PDF, 210 KB) is available on the Washington State Department of Ecology's Web site. See also Silver Recovery Cartridges in the Waste Directory.
• Hire a waste management firm to pick up the fixer. (See list below.)

If you are doing specialty color or microfiche development, you may need to test for other hazardous compounds (cyanide and chromium) and pH to determine if your waste meets local sewer limits. For more information, call Industrial Waste at (206) 263-3000 or visit the King County Industrial Waste Web site.

• Philip Services Corp.
  Kent, WA
  800-228-7872

• Envirotech Systems, Inc.
  Lynnwood, WA
  800-922-9395
  206-363-9000

• General Environmental Management, Inc.
  Kent, WA
  253-437-0560

• Keep It Clean Recycling & Equipment
  Redmond, WA
  425-868-3535

• Kleen Environmental Technologies
  Seattle, WA
  206-285-8010

• Safety-Kleen
  Lynnwood, WA
  425-775-7030
  
  Auburn, WA
  800-669-5948
  

• Bayside X-ray
  Seattle, WA
  206-768-0910

• CMX/NHD Corporation
  Seattle, WA
  800-869-7191

• CPAC Imaging
  Leicester, NY
  800-828-6011

• Eastside Dental Processor Services
  Sammamish, WA
  425-466-4412

• Evergreen X-ray
  Mukilteo, WA
  425-745-8372

• Hallmark Refining Corp.
  Mt. Vernon, WA
  800-255-1895

• Puget Sound Developer Services
  Kirkland, WA
  206-819-4348