Where will eclipse glasses go after April 8? Here's what experts say about reusing them.
People across the country in the path of the total solar eclipse on April 8 are scrambling to pick up viewing glasses, but few have considered what they'll do with their glasses after the 4-and-a-half-minute phenomenon is over.
Before trashing a pair of hard-won glasses, only to scrounge for a new pair ahead of the next eclipse, consider this expert's advice about keeping or reusing eclipse glasses.
Experts say eclipse glasses are safe to reuse
Eclipse glasses may be cheap, but they can last for years. Some glasses made a decade or more ago were printed with messages to throw them away after a certain period of time, but experts now say buyers may be in the clear.
"In the past 10, 15, 20 years ago, most manufacturers would print on their glasses, 'Discard after three years,"" said Rick Fienberg, project manager of the American Astronomical Society's solar eclipse task force. "That was because the materials being used in the lenses in those days did degrade over time."
Since then, manufacturers started using more durable material in the glasses, like metal-coated black polymer. "Those don't degrade," Fienberg said.
Fienberg recommends storing eclipse viewers in a safe, dark, protected dry area, like an envelope in your dresser.
"If you open it up five, 10 years later, for another eclipse and you see that there's no pinholes, no scratches, no tears, no rips, no delamination of the lenses or any other obvious damage, they're almost certainly OK," he said.
Amid fears glasses could sell out closer to the big day, as they did before the 2017 eclipse, manufacturers are ramping up their output.
American Paper Optics, one of the country's top makers of the glasses, manufactured about 45 million pairs in the runup to the 2017 eclipse. The company expects to sell more ahead of this year's eclipse.
"We are manufacturing an average of 500,000 glasses a day," Jason Lewin, the company's chief marketing officer, told USA TODAY. "We expect to sell, manufacture close to 75 million glasses."
More:The April total solar eclipse could snarl traffic for hours across thousands of miles
Nonprofit launches glasses recycling program
One nonprofit is organizing a sustainable alternative to save glasses from ending up in the trash.
Astronomers Without Borders has launched its second eclipse glasses recycling program ahead of April's eclipse.
Formed in 2009, the California-based nonprofit first launched its program ahead of the 2017 eclipse with a dual goal – cutting down on post-eclipse waste, and distributing glasses to underserved communities.
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"There's so many glasses out there," Andrew Fazekas, AWB's communication manager, told USA TODAY. "How wonderful would it be to be able to reuse them, repurpose them to other countries, to those that don't have access?"
Before the 2017 eclipse, the nonprofit set up about 1,000 collection centers across the U.S., stationed at locations including astronomy clubs, museums, schools and even dentists' and attorneys' offices. Volunteers collected about 3 million glasses that were shipped to a warehouse in Arkansas and vetted by a local astronomy club to ensure they were safe for reuse.
"People from all walks of life" chipped in to help, Fazekas said. "It was unbelievable."
The organization already is revving up for the next eclipse. In just six months it will be visible from a remote area at the southern tip of South America. "There's populations there, and they'll be asking for eclipse glasses," Fazekas said.
Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.
