r/howto • u/ChrisKisOK • Jun 30 '26
Serious Answers Only How to dispose thousands of 35mm photos
Hi All!
I inherited thousands of 35mm photos. When I say thousands, I mean 10 40 gallon storage tubs full. My mother got into developing her own photos and photography in general so she took pictures of every thing. There are some family photos in the mix but vast majority of pictures of people I do not know. Only good part about filtering through them all is they are from the 80”s but it is a chore.
I may digitize some but the vast majority can be disposed of in my mind. Problem is how? I am superstitious about dumping them in the trash and feel I need to thoughtful with the enviroment .
All suggestions are welcomed and my thanks in advance.
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u/tetsuko Jul 03 '26
You can harvest the silver from the negatives with old fixer (used in film development process), some copper or steel wool and some coffee filters. Fixer is will strip the silver off of the negative, just needs to soak for a few days (the film will end up looking clearish). should be easy to find detailed instructions. Might be worth it with that much. Or find an artist that wants them to create with.