How can I recycle or reuse old slide, transparency, or negative storage pages?
Asked 4/11/2020
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2 answers
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I have several hundred used archival pages for slides/transparencies/negatives (including brands like Print File, Vue-All, and Calumet) that I no longer need. My local recycling program won’t accept them, likely because these pages are made from mixed plastics such as polyethylene or polypropylene. Are there practical ways to recycle, donate, or repurpose them instead of sending them to the trash?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
1
There is more than one way to Recycle.
Post them for free on craigslist,
Contact local schools or universities that teach photography to see if they want them,
Join a Film Photography forum and see if any of the members there would like them.
Think outside the slide holder. Re-purpose them.
Shelter in place OR Quarantine activity: Get some clear plastic sheet and cut it up into 2"x 2" squares and let your kids make drawings on them ( or just colored plastic squares and make a patern ) and then insert them into the slide holders and put them up in the window or make a lamp shade
Photo from littlethings.com
Originally by user50217. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user50217
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
If your local recycler won’t take them, they’re usually not accepted in standard curbside recycling because specialty photo storage pages can be made from different plastics and may not fit local sorting rules.
A practical alternative is reuse rather than municipal recycling. Good options include:
- Offer them for free locally through community listings.
- Donate them to schools, colleges, or universities with photography programs.
- Ask on film-photography forums or groups where people still store slides and negatives.
- Repurpose them for crafts or home projects, such as inserting small drawings or colored plastic squares and using them as window art or similar projects.
So, the most reliable path is: if local recycling says no, don’t put them in the recycling bin. Try giving them away or reusing them first; trash is the fallback only if you can’t find a second life for them.
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