The total solar eclipse has passed, and the next one won’t pass over North America for another 20 years. That means thousands of people across Maine may be wondering what to do with the inexpensive solar viewing glasses made out of cardboard and film that they obtained to safely enjoy the once-in-a-generation event.
For those who are interested in saving their glasses, either as a keepsake or for future eclipses, they can be reused indefinitely as long as they’re undamaged and meet the ISO 12312-2 safety standard, according to the American Astronomical Society.
But if you’d like to keep those specs out of the landfill, there are options for recycling undamaged pairs both in Maine and by mail, so that they can be provided to communities that will enjoy full eclipses between now and 2044. Next October, another solar eclipse will pass over South American countries including Chile and Argentina.
In Maine, GoGo Refill, a shop that sells plastic-free goods in Portland and Brunswick, will be collecting gently used glasses until Sunday to donate to an organization that will provide them to children in South America for the next eclipse.
Undamaged and certified eclipse glasses can also be mailed to Eclipse Glasses USA, which will be reusing them. They can be sent to a collection point in Utah.
Astronomers Without Borders is running its own eclipse glasses recycling campaign, with several donation locations across the U.S. and Canada. None are currently listed in Maine, but there are ones in New Hampshire and Montréal, and the list is being updated.
If the lenses are damaged on eclipse glasses, they can be separated from the glasses and thrown out, and the cardboard frames can be recycled.
