Tips for Recycling Eyeglasses

When you move on to a new pair of eyeglasses, why not donate your old ones? Over four million pairs are thrown away each year in North America.

The World Health Organization (WHO), estimated that 44 percent of men, women and children in developing countries are in need of eyeglasses, but do not have access to them. According to the Lions Club, “For children, vision loss can lead to failure in school, delays in development, learning disabilities and even juvenile delinquency. For adults, uncorrected vision can lead to unemployment and the inability to support a family. Seniors with vision loss are limited in performing daily activities, depriving them of an independent lifestyle.”

Organizations

There are a lot of great organizations that will take your glasses to provide sight to someone abroad (U.S. prescription regulation often limits the ability to re-distribute glasses in the States).

Lions Club International provides drop-off boxes throughout communities. The organization collects more than 20 million pairs of glasses each year and has been collecting these old pairs for over 80 years.

Another organization, Unite for Sight, provides eye care to more than 600,000 people in need worldwide. New Eyes for the Needy and One Sight will also take used eyeglasses to reuse throughout the world.

Replacemycontacts.com will even give you a $5 rebate on contact when you donate your old glasses.

You can drop your eyeglasses off at various locations, including your eye doctor. Local eyeglass distributors in your area may have their own eyeglass collection programs as well. Use Earth911 to find the closet drop-off location in your area.

If you’d like to reuse your glasses and the frames are a good fit, you can also have them re-made into sunglasses or re-fit. Simply update your lenses instead of buying new glasses each time your prescription changes.