Dear Recyclebank,
How do I recycle prescription glasses?
-Veronica S.
Dear Veronica,
Because eyeglasses are made of a mix of materials that aren’t easily separated, they are not typically recycled by being broken down and remade into new products. Instead, they are recycled through reuse. There are several organizations out there that accept unwanted eyeglasses for redistribution or reselling. The eyeglasses are collected and sent to a sorting center, where employees or volunteers process them. Workers remove unusable frames, determine the power of the lenses, and label them accordingly.
Nonprofit organizations like Lions Club International collect eyeglasses by mail or drop-off. While recycling old eyeglasses may not be the most cost effective option, it does reduce demand for virgin resources used in manufacturing new glasses. Plus, there’s practically nowhere else for unwanted eyeglasses to go, other than a landfill. As long as the glasses are in good shape, you might as well pass them along to someone else.
