Betts Group expands recycled silver range from X-rays

Precious metals specialist Betts Group has expanded its range of recycled silver bullion products made from redundant medical X-rays.

The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter firm said the move responds to growing demand for traceable and sustainable sources of silver.

Its Again Silver, first launched in 2022, was previously available only as silver grain in 925, 958 and 999 grades. The range now includes square, round and D-shaped wire, rectangular wire, and three widths of sheet silver aimed at designers, manufacturers and independent retailers.

Again Silver is refined at the company’s sites in Kidderminster and Buxton from old NHS X-ray films. Each film is stripped into component parts before silver is extracted and separated from other material.

Between two and five grams of silver can be recovered per kilogram of film, generating revenue for NHS trusts that supply the material.

To mark the expanded scope of Again Silver, Betts has partnered with Goldsmiths’ Fair to support the 2025 Emerging Business Bursary programme. Each of the 10 participants has received 400 grams of Again Silver to produce new work, along with a discount on tools from Betts Metal Sales.

The company also supplies Single Mine Origin gold, refined in segregation to ensure full traceability, and is the UK’s only certified refinery for Fairtrade and Fairmined metals. It is a certified member of the Responsible Jewellery Council.

Betts continues to manufacture wedding rings, produce bespoke alloys and offer investment bullion, alongside a range of jewellery-making tools and equipment.

Charlie Betts, managing director, said: “Again Silver has performed strongly since its introduction in 2022, but we’ve seen growing demand for a wider array of bullion products that meet the needs of the UK trade. We are proud to bring this to market in 2025 and nurture a growing interest in genuinely recycled silver with known provenance.”

Betts added: “We are helping hospitals to earn money from old X-rays that would typically sit in long-term storage or be sent to landfill. We recycle every aspect of the X-ray films we collect, helping to minimise our carbon footprint, and can provide traceability assurances to our customers who understand that not all ‘recycled’ metals are equal.”