DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) -- You have your spot picked out to watch Monday's total solar eclipse, and you have at least one pair of ISO-certified eclipse glasses ready to go. But...what happens after? What are you supposed to do with these glasses that (if correctly worn) have fulfilled their purpose?
Contrary to what the cardboard "frames" might make you believe, eclipse glasses actually aren't recyclable. The material that makes them so safe for viewing solar events is what makes them material non grata with recycling systems.
Rather than just throwing them away after the eclipse, however, why not consider donating them to be re-used?
A group called Astronomers Without Borders is collecting used, undamaged glasses to re-distribute around the world for the next solar eclipse. After the 2017 eclipse, AWB sent tens of thousands of pairs of collected used eclipse glasses o countries all over the world.
Total Solar Eclipse 2024
AWB is working locally with the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities Services to collect these glasses. Take them to MCBDDS' Northview Center (8114 N. Main St.) or Southview Center (25 Thorpe Dr.) between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The glasses will be inspected to make sure they meet safety standards before being shipped to their next home.
(You could also keep them, but as the Miami Valley's next solar eclipse is on Sept. 14, 2099, the odds are high you won't be needing them again yourself.)
Total solar eclipse eye safety tips
You have undoubtedly heard these tips numerous times over the past few months, but as it's your eyes we're talking about, it's worth repeating:
- Ordinary sunglasses are JUST NOT ENOUGH to witness the eclipse, as they let in more sunlight than is safe into our eyes. The only safe way to look directly at the un- or partially-eclipsed sun is through special solar filters, such as the ones use in eclipse glasses.
- Always check your glasses' lenses before using them. If they're scratched, punctured, torn or damaged, trash them. Don't keep them, don't give them to someone else, don't donate them to Astronomers Without Borders. Just trash them.
- A solar filter MUST be attached to the front of any camera lens. Don't look at the sun through a camera that has an unfiltered lens, even if you're wearing your own glasses. Much like a magnifying lens, the camera lens can concentrate the sun's rays to the point that they can burn through your glasses, letting them into your eyes and causing injury.