MOST homes have a pile of awkwardly sized envelopes stashed somewhere, housing old X-rays from injuries and tests over the years.

Modern Media: Advertise with News Of The Area and you get your ad in 1) in Print, 2) on the News Website (like this ad), and 3) on our Social Media news site. A much more efficient way to advertise. Reach a HUGE audience for a LOW price TODAY! Call us on 02 4983 2134. Or media@newsofthearea.com.au
Or CLICK FOR ADVERT QUOTE

However, it is not a widely known fact that you can recycle your old X-rays and declutter them from your home.

A customer service representative from Port Stephens Council told News Of The Area, “Port Stephens Council has drop off and collection points for old X-rays at our Council building in Raymond Terrace, and at the Salamander Waste Recycle Centre.”

“We encourage residents to utilise this option to dispose of their X-rays that are no longer needed.”

It is that simple and easy to make sure these items don’t get sent to landfill.

Every X-ray is coated with a substance that contains silver, so once you are done with your X-rays, that silver is fully recoverable and valuable to recyclers who extract the silver from the films.

X-rays were first discovered by a German physicist named Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895.

Within months of his discovery, doctors were using basic X-ray machines to look at broken bones in hospitals and on battlefields.

Today X-ray machines are also used in airports to inspect passengers and their luggage for dangerous items, and to examine machinery for flaws.

X-rays are not the only medical images that have silver, with MRIs, CTs and mammograms also containing the valuable precious metal.

Modern X-ray machines, especially those used by dentists, can transfer images to computers rather than film.

These modern machines do not give off as much radiation, meaning they are safer for patients, and make it is quicker and easier for technicians to receive the images.

This new technology should decrease the stacks of old X-rays sitting around medical offices and homes in the future.

For those with a stack building up before these machines, it is important that they are recycled in a responsible manner.

Please take your old X-rays to the Council building in Raymond Terrace, or the Salamander Waste Recycle Centre and dispose of them in the best way possible.

By Rachael VAUGHAN