X-rays should not be put in your recycling bin at home. They can only be recycled through specialised recycling services.
Some organisations have recycling collection points for x-rays. Use the directory on this page to see if there is a recycling drop-off point in your area.
Here are some other options:
Contact your council to see if they have a recycling drop-off point in your area. Many councils accept x-rays at recycling stations at libraries and community recycling centres.
Contact the radiologist, hospital or x-ray facility that you got it from to see if they accept old x-rays.
If you cannot find a recycling option for your x-ray, you can put it in your garbage bin.
X-ray films contain silver in the form of halides, which can be extracted and converted into pure silver. Silver is a critical component of a range of technologies, especially medical and electrical. Due to the demand, silver is still regularly sourced through mining. Extracting the silver from old x-rays and recycling it reduces the demand for new resources to be extracted from the earth.
X-ray films that have been collected for recycling are processed in a refinery to extract the silver. The x-ray films are heated using temperatures of over 1,000 degrees celsius. The silver is extracted and converted into a more pure silver form so it can be used to make new products such as silver solder, jewellery, the silver plating of utensils, electrical components and film manufacture.
Businesses or workplaces with large quantities of x-rays to recycle can use a commercial recycling service.
Yes – your old x-rays can be recycled, but not via your household recycling bin.
Use the information on this page to see if there is a recycling drop-off point near you. You can also contact your local council to see if they accept x-rays for recycling at their waste/recycling facilities.
