What to do with your glasses now that the solar eclipse is over

You can recycle, donate or even keep them

News 6's Shannon McLellan and friends watch the total solar eclipse in Stanley, Idaho on August 21, 2017.

CHEYENNE, Wy. – The Great American Eclipse has come and gone. You stared up at the sky in awe at this once-in-a-lifetime event with your protective solar eclipse glasses. Now, what do you do with those things?

There are several options of what you can do with your solar eclipse glasses instead of just throwing them away.

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First, you can donate them. Groups like Astronomers Without Borders collect solar eclipse glasses and distribute them to other places in the world that will soon experience eclipse. If you would like to donate your glasses, they will be given for people in South America for the eclipse that will occur there in 2019.

There is also the environmentally friendly option of recycling your used glasses, rather than just tossing them in the trash. If you do recycle the glasses, remember that the cardboard is the only part that is recyclable so you will have to punch out the lenses before tossing them in the recycling bin. The lenses can be recycled with camera film, so if you bring them to your local photo shop they might be able to dispose of them properly for you.

The other option? Just keep them. If your glasses are one of the NASA-approved pairs, they will stay good forever unless they are punctured or scratched. The next solar eclipse that will sweep across America will be in 2024 and if you don't feel like scrambling to find a pair, you can just keep your current glasses.


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