Not sure what to do with your eclipse safety glasses now that the once-in-a-lifetime celestial event is over?
Hamilton Conservation Authority recommends that if you don’t want to save them for the next total solar eclipse in 120 years, you can recycle or donate them.
The simplest way to recycle your glasses is to pop out and dispose of the protective film and put the cardboard frames in the blue bin, says the conservation authority.
You can also drop off your fully intact glasses at Burlington Centre’s Zero Waste Zone, a program that recycles items not accepted by municipal recycling programs.
Burlington Centre is located at 777 Guelph Line, Burlington, Ont.
Another option is donating them to Astronomers Without Borders.
The American organization collects safety glasses for people in other areas of the world where there are upcoming eclipses, who may not otherwise have access to them.
Since 2008, it has sent glasses to parts of Africa, Asia and North and South America, according to its website.
You can send your glasses to an Astronomers Without Borders collection partner, including four in Canada.
Those addresses are:
- Cardinal Festival, P.O. Box 849 Cardinal Ontario K0E 1E0
- City of Cornwall, Cornwall Fire Services, 10 4th St W, Cornwall, Ont K6J 2R6
- Jack Miner Migratory Bird Sanctuary, 332 Road 3 W, Kingsville, ON N9Y 2E5
- Montreal Planetarium, 4801 Av. Pierre-De Coubertin, Montréal, QC H1V 3V4