Future of Old Negatives

[downsizer]

OK, this is my first trip on the forum and I'm unsure if posting in the correct area. After viewing past threads, I wasn’t able to locate an answer to my dilemma, but it’s more than likely discussed somewhere. Upon tackling the task of cleaning my uncle’s estate, I encountered numerous shoeboxes containing photo negatives dating back to the 1930’s, 1940’s, and some 1950’s, stored in the attic. I thought I struck gold finding family heirlooms, but unfortunately most (if not all) are totally faded and brittle with no image viewable. Since discarding is my only option as I don’t think attempted scanning is of benefit, I’d like to know the best way to do this. There is no recycling in my community, other than computers and appliances. Due to the chemicals used on old negatives (one box has a vinegar smell) I doubt that it would be considered safe to toss them in the trash to end up in the landfill. Does it make a difference if they’re shredded? Are there safety issues? Thanks in advance for the expertise.

 

[Ysarex]

No chemical safety issues. The chemicals used to process them are washed out to barely trace levels. Assuming they're B&W you're throwing away a small amount of silver. Silver is a heavy metal and should be recycled. If there are any professional photo labs in your area they may still have the ability to do that. Otherwise you could do a local Google search on the topic: silver reclamation.

Joe

 

[Derrel]

My suggestion is sadly.... Garbage can photo - Google Search

 

[Josh66]

Does it make a difference if they’re shredded?

It would just make smaller pieces to sort through wherever they end up.

Sounds like they weren't stored well though - the attic is pretty far from ideal. With proper storage, negatives will last a hundred years, easily. (I've heard that 1000 years is not out of the question, with optimal storage conditions...) Storage temperature is a pretty big factor here. Colder is better (that 1000 year figure is in cold storage), and attics usually get pretty hot. At room temperature, you're talking 50ish years. Storage in the attic would drastically cut that number down.

 

[Vautrin]

Have you actually tried scanning or printing them?

A lot of times, especially with black and white, while YOU may not see an image, the image may be there.

The only way to find out is to either make some prints, or scan them.

(The thing you have to understand is in negatives colors are reversed. So black is white and white is black. If I take a picture of a dark subject (for instance against a person in dark clothes against a dark background), the negative will be mostly empty. I've had negatives come back from professional photo labs that they said "roll was unexposed" that i've successfully scanned in)