Xray film recycling has really been becoming a more important source of side income for individuals or businesses in the Spokane, WA area. Xray recycling can be beneficial for the environment because the process does save space in landfills and it is certainly a great green initiative for companies concerned about the planet Earth. However, besides just being a morally good thing to do, xray recycling can also turn out to be quite profitable for a few different reasons.
There is money to be made in at least 3 different areas. Recovery companies can recycle the paper that is often associated with the film. This can be in the form of manila envelopes or other such related paper product. There is also money to be made from the plastic that different films consist of. NDT film and dental xray film are two specific types that can be salvaged in that manner. Finally, the most profitable portion of used xray film has to be for the silver recycler who separates the percentage of silver that is inside each sheet of film. Companies such as Industrial Surplus Inc. are great avenues to get rid of the abundant xray material. It is estimated that somewhere around 5 to 6 billion xray images are taken each year, and that number is only increasing as the world population continues to increase with it. from that statistic, it is easy to see how the sheets can be valuable for scrap metal recycling and the scrap metal buyer who buys the images in bulk.
It is important to understand that due to federal regulations in the United States, there are certain methods of destruction that must be undertaken before silver recovery from x-ray film can be done. This is, of course, to protect the patients who were imaged and their right to privacy. Nevertheless, each image can contain about 2 percent of silver content, and with scrap metal prices at close to record levels there is a large profit margin to be had for those wishing to collect and recycle things appropriately. Next time you get an x-ray think about recycling.
