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Looking for info re: proper disposal of photo chemicals

19 Jul 2014
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I'm going to be setting up my photo studio later this year, and that will involve also having a small darkroom. I'm having trouble finding any information regarding proper disposal of used photography chemicals in Japan, I assume because I'm searching for it with the wrong terms in Japanese. Different places handle it in different ways, ranging from everything down the drain being OK to everything having to be picked up for recycling to somewhere in between.

If anyone has experience with this or can help me with the right Japanese words to Google, I would sincerely appreciate it.

I'm living in Urawa, Saitama and will need to dispose of developer and fixer for black and white film only. No color chemicals, which tend to be nastier and harder to dispose of properly.
 
List of industrial wastes on the Saitama City website:

さいたま市/産業廃棄物の種類

Notice that #4 and #5 specifically mention photographic processing chemicals.

List of companies in Saitama City which can take care of such waste:

http://www.city.saitama.jp/001/006/008/002/005/p001249_d/fil/syobun.pdf

You need to go down the list and narrow it down to the ones which handle 廃酸 and 廃アルカリ.

Apparently there are people who just dilute the hell out of developer and pour it down the sink. They then mix the acids and alkali together to kinda-sorta neutralize the pH, then similarly dilute them and pour them down the drain. I have no idea of the legality, safety, or morality of such a disposal method.
 
Sorry for the delay in my response! I really appreciate the information and the links, this is precisely the information I needed to find. In most places I've lived (outside Japan, around the US and a few Asian countries), the neutralization/dilution method is what local authorities have told me for black and white chemistry. Color stuff tends to be more hazardous, but mono chems tend to pose less of a threat, especially after they've been used. When I'm actually set up again, I'll try to follow up here with what I ended up doing.
 
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