COLUMBUS, Ohio — After yesterday’s phenomenon, the last thing cities want to see are eclipse glasses in landfills or on the side of the road. 

What You Need To Know

  • SWACO is partnering with different Columbus organizations to collect gently used solar eclipse glasses

  • The glasses will be shipped to eclipse glasses USA at the end of the month 

  • The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, along with the city of Cleveland, are doing something similar

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) is partnering with the city of Columbus, Franklin County Metro Parks and others to collect gently used solar glasses. 

The mixed material nature of the glasses prevents them from being a part of the curbside recycling program offered by cities like Columbus. If you were at a watch party yesterday, you might have noticed collection bins at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, the Columbus Library systems, COSI or one of the metro parks, but if you stayed home to watch, your glasses can still be recycled and reused. You can drop off your gently used solar eclipse glasses at one of the six locations sponsored by SWACO: 

  • SWACO Recycling Convenience Center, 2566 Jackson Pike, Columbus

  • Columbus Waste & Reuse Center, 2100 Alum Creek Drive, Columbus

  • Participating Columbus & Franklin County Metro Park Nature Centers at: 

    • Battelle Darby Creek, 1775 Darby Creek Drive, Galloway

    • Blacklick Woods, 6975 E. Livingston Avenue, Reynoldsburg

    • Blendon Woods, 4265 E. Dublin Granville Road, Columbus

    • Highbanks, 9466 Columbus Pike, Lewis Center

At the end of April, SWACO will send all collected items to Eclipse Glasses USA, which will ship them to school-aged children in Latin America. Columbia is expected to see a solar eclipse in October.

“There are hundreds of thousands of these glasses in our community,” said Hanna Greer-Brown, who serves as the Communications Manager for SWACO. “We want to collect as many as possible, which is why we’ve extended the opportunity for people to be able to donate these glasses through the end of the month.”

The City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga county is offering a similar program. The Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District is partnering with Astronomers Without Borders to collect glasses. Astronomers Without Borders will reuse the glasses for future eclipses that could be seen in other parts of the world. Deadlines vary depending on the drop-off location, but you can view a full list here. 

If you are unable to take your glasses to a drop-off location, you can pop out the lenses of the disposable glasses and recycle the cardboard frames.