Xray film recycling is a very large industry. There are many silver recovery companies that process stripping silver and plastic out of new and used x-ray films and their paper jackets. A recycling company in San Antonio, Texas has been in the business of recycling xray films for over 30 years. They do splendid work and have excellent references from all over Texas. They are licensed by the EPA, and have a HIPAA compliant certificate for destruction of xray films, including dental xray film, NDT film and industrial xray film and their paper jackets.
The silver recycler company will pick-up over 100 pounds of film for free anywhere in the city. They do their best to schedule pick-up at a time convenient for their customers. Xray film recycling of 100 pounds or less is charged a fee. A film weight calculator is available to help estimate how many pounds of film are to be picked-up. The weights estimated are actual weights of xray recycling and not the amount of silver to be recovered from the film.
Upon receipt of dental xray film or NDT film to the silver recycler, it is weighed. The customer will get a call from the x-ray recycler to verify before the xray recycling process begins. The film is fed through a large industrial grinder that chops it into very small pieces making sure the x-ray film is not readable to meet the standards of HHPAA. The film is then reweighed and this will be the official weight for the customers’ payment. Next, a sample is taken for analysis and is retained in case there are any discrepancies. These small pieces of film are then put through several washes of a liquid chemical for about an hour to remove the coating on the x-ray film. The plastic is separted from the silver at this time, then dried and sent to plastic recycling plants. The silver metal has been put into a semi-liquid form by this process. The silver recovery from x-ray film is tested for acidity at this time. Polymers are then added to separate the water from the silver. Any remaining water is removed by flitration leaving a silver cake that is dried into a powder. The powdery ash is then put into a smeltering furnace for a few hours at 2,000 degrees with reacting chemical agents to remove any remaining impurities. The silver recovery from x-ray film is put in vaults until it is sold to silver vendors.
The recovery companies are doing a good job of keeping x-ray film from going to our landfills. They also profit from the silver recovery and from the plastic recycling process.
