Old photographs and negatives go in your general waste bin at home. They can’t be recycled in your paper and card bin because most photo paper has a thin coating of plastic to control water absorption and speed up drying.
However, some modern-day photos are made without chemical processes, which makes it safe to put them in the recycle bin. But to be sure, if your photo paper doesn’t rip apart cleanly like a page of a magazine, it is polluted with photographic materials and NOT safe for recycling.
But before you dispose of your old photos in the bin (whichever bin that might be), consider what else you could do with them.
Perhaps one of the best uses for old photographs is considering their historical value to others. Schools, historical societies, other organisations, or even your local library, might appreciate pictures that tell stories about the war or other local historical events, allowing memories to live on. Old photos of where you live could have value too.
Photographs are quite often seen as the result of a creative process, so you could apply some creative thinking to your old photos and use them for art and craft. A quick online search will provide plenty of ideas of how old photos can be used in this way, ranging from decorative collages to postcards.
One final thought before you dispose of, or cut up, your old photos. Are they worth digitising and saving for posterity in that way?
