Call for community to keep X-ray films out of landfill
Got some old X-ray films gathering dust at your place and not sure what to do with them?
Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) is using World Environment Day 2026 today (Friday 5 June) to urge community members, staff and healthcare providers to keep their outdated radiographs out of landfill.
MLHD Sustainability Lead Kym Witney-Soanes said the X-ray films can be recycled, but only through dedicated channels, keeping heavy metals in a circular economy and preventing environmental contamination.
“Some X-ray films are coated with silver halide crystals and should never be placed in household recycling or general waste,” Kym said.
“MLHD separates medical imaging film waste, ensuring valuable materials are recovered and the heavy metals are kept out of landfill.”
Recycling involves the films being processed at very high temperatures or through chemical treatments. They can also be soaked in a chemical bath that dissolves the silver-containing imaging layer.
The specialised recycling process extracts the silver, which can be repurposed into a wide variety of products, such as electronics, jewellery, silverware, medical instruments, mirrors and reflective coatings.
“The more silver and heavy metals that can be recycled and kept in a circular economy, the less that needs to be newly extracted through mining,” Kym said.
People are strongly encouraged to keep their films out of their kerbside bins and instead use local recycling pathways.
Prior to recycling, the films should be taken out of their envelopes and any personal information removed.
The films can then be returned to MLHD medical imaging departments or dropped at Community Recycling Centres or participating council facilities.
Private radiology clinics can also be contacted to discuss take-back options.
MLHD’s Biomedical Engineering Department is also playing an important role in ensuring the safe and environmentally responsible disposal of radiology equipment and related materials across the district.
The number of physical radiographs is also decreasing over time as the use of digital imaging increases.
X-ray recycling is one of several environmentally sustainable healthcare initiatives that have been implemented as part of MLHD’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions.
These include solar panels on 87 per cent of our hospital sites and the ongoing transition of the District’s fleet vehicles away from combustion engines to electric or hybrid, as well as increased rates of virtual care.
The MLHD has also been diverting all medication blister packs from landfill since May 2025.
The packs are collected onsite at our facilities and then sent to the Wagga Wagga Base Hospital Pharmacy, where they are stored until being sent in bulk to Pharmacycle in Melbourne.
As of the end of April 2026, we have diverted 173kg of blister packs.
The associated carbon emission savings from aluminium recovery and reuse is calculated by Pharmacycle to be 1.5 tonnes CO2-equivalent (same as driving 15,000 kilometres in a petrol vehicle).
The MLHD is committed to a 50 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, 70 per cent by 2035 and net zero by 2050.