Comments on: How can I reuse or recycle old photos?

By: Teresa

Teresa — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:35:36 +0000

Thanks to Penny for your post. I found it most helpful.

By: Larry

Larry — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:09:04 +0000

Some years back I remember that the places that took film to be developed were taking back all those old photos esp thos bad shots. If I remember correctly there was supposedly trace amounts of silver used in the processing of the paper and they were recovering the silver

By: penny

penny — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:13:29 +0000

This is from the Kodak website:-

Waste photographic paper is not generally recoverable. Most papers are coated with a very thin layer of polythene to control water absorption and speed drying, and should not therefore be mixed with other waste paper destined for conventional paper recovery.
Waste photographic paper should be disposed of by incineration with energy recovery. If suitable incineration facilities are unavailable; the waste may be disposed of to landfill without risk of adverse environmental effects.

By: missi

missi — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:11:05 +0000

u r right

By: Maren

Maren — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:25:37 +0000

I’ve tried a few forums like this, but no one seems to know: can I just put them in the recycling bin or not? I don’t want to keep them and don’t want to make an art project. I want them to go away! :) (I’m moving soon, so I’ve emptied out my old photo boxes and scanned them to cut down on clutter. Now my 27 years of photos all fit on a jump drive, and I much prefer it!)

By: Gulia

Gulia — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:28:46 +0000

Many of this blurry photographs can be fixed in Photoshop to be sharp, have proper contrast and color, or in other programs.
They can be then reprinted. They also can be saved on a computer, even as is. They can be used for web sites, designing of the cards, collages, pictures on fabric. The list is endless.
If some pictures are completely odd, like total smudges, give them to children to draw on, or glue a printed copy of a good picture on top, leaving wide border as it ts, and you’ll have a great card or a picture to exhibit on a table.

By: Gulia

Gulia — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:19:22 +0000

You can sell them for few dollars to an antique shop.

By: cassie

cassie — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:26:04 +0000

cassie wrote:

get a recycleing bin here so i can have it for my damn since fair

By: cassie

cassie — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:25:37 +0000

get a recycleing bin here so i can have it for my damn since fair

By: attilathehen

attilathehen — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 13:19:06 +0000

I made a special album of our wedding with all the duff shots. e.g. Picture of us smiling with my mum in the background looking glum: Caption said “Poor man, he just doesn’t know what he’s letting himself in for!” I had a lot of fun doing this and we like it more than our official one.

By: Adele

Adele — Fri, 25 May 2007 21:49:26 +0000

P.S. Don’t forget your local Historical Society for old photos relevant to more than just your family!

By: Adele

Adele — Fri, 25 May 2007 21:48:16 +0000

One photographer I knew used his rejects as postcards– using a permanant marker to write on them– & appropriate postage— they arrived just fine.

Also, what about giving them to elementary school teachers to use for collage projects?

By: jean O'Connor

jean O'Connor — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 16:55:54 +0000

Hello Sue

Please don’t dispose of all of your old photos. Make an album of your best and your oldest photos with narrative and notes and dates.

Your grandchildren and their children one day will want to know about you, your parents and your grandparents. It’s their history. Maybe they don’t want to know about them right now but they will and you are the only one who can tell them.

Don’t let your history get away from them.

By: jean O'Connor

jean O'Connor — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 16:26:36 +0000

Hello Sue
Whatever you do don’t dispose of them all. Your grandchildren and their children one day will want to know about you and your parents and grandparents. Make an album and tell your story in captions and notes telling about who the subjects are in each photo.
Maybe none of your family are that bothered right now but in time to come they will want to know the history of their families. Don’t let your history get away from them.

By: Phil

Phil — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 10:46:27 +0000

I use ‘bad’ photos as notelets, as the most awful are almost abstract :)

I would be interested in the recyclability of photo paper though, as I have a lot of prints to sort through in the near future. I’m pretty sure they won’t go in the paper recycling – anyone know whether they will go in a council green bin for composting?

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:21:38 +0000

If you have a local craft store that holds scrap-booking classes – I bet they’ll take them.

By: lesley

lesley — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:18:30 +0000

ANy old black and white/sepia ones ill take for my college project that im doing on creatively recycling

heres my email, drop me a line and ill send you my address

lesley258@hotmail.com

ill try my best to post/ send photos of what i did with them

i recently recovered an old discarded lampshade i found at a carboot and covered it in pages from a 1960 french phrase book i found at the same car boot just left in the field :)

By: trish

trish — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:07:18 +0000

I think you can recycle them. Contact a photography studio, they’ll know.

You might ebay them. I did a project with black and whites, half of the people in them I don’t know who they are, but I liked the oldness of them.

I like the decolage idea, you could also buy a glass top for your coffee table and arrange them beneath it. you can change the look whenever the mood strikes you.

make an album for the younger kids in your family, grandkids love the idea of having their own album with grandma and grandpa, but seldom get to because the adults don’t what the pics ruined.

By: Nigello

Nigello — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:35:48 +0000

A school might like them for art projects, though there might well be legal considerations re identification to think aboit.

By: bbm

bbm — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:11:16 +0000

The craft project that uses them is décolage. It’s lots of fun, and you can make your own paper maché objects to apply the décolage to.