What To Do With Old Glasses? 5 Top Tips
Are your glasses coming to the end of the line? Perhaps you need a new prescription after noticing a change in your vision. Maybe the lenses on your current pair of sunglasses are scratched up. You might have dropped or damaged them in some other way. Whatever the reason, you’ll probably be wondering what to do with old prescription glasses.
Until just a few years ago, your only real option was to put your old glasses in the bin. But while it’s easy to do, this is hardly sustainable.
While glasses are relatively small items, remember that there are around 46 million people who wear them in the UK according to the College of Optometrists. If all those people replaced their glasses every couple of years, that represents a huge amount of plastic, glass and metal going to landfill.
At the same time, making new glasses has a real environmental impact. Studies suggest that the creation of a single pair of glasses will emit about 11lb (~5kg) of CO2. That’s roughly equivalent to the emissions for getting the train from London to Southampton. If we could find better ways to reuse old glasses frames, it would mean the industry wouldn’t have to produce so many frames, and could therefore reduce emissions overall.
As consumers and businesses have become more environmentally aware, more people are looking for ways to recycle old glasses, repair them, or even trade them in (more on that later). Here are five ideas about what to do with old glasses.
The circular economy: what can you do with old glasses?
Have you heard of the ‘circular economy’? This is the idea that to make our society more sustainable, we should try to reuse, repair, refurbish or recycle goods for as long as possible.
Today, most industries follow a ‘linear economy’ model, where they extract raw materials from the earth, turn them into products that people use for a short while, then throw away. The circular economy is about trying to change this, so we find new purposes for existing materials - and don’t have to extract so many resources.
If we shifted to a circular economy at a global level, it could play a big role in tackling climate change and other environmental issues.
5 ideas for what to do with old spectacles
Unsure what you can do with old glasses? The following five suggestions show there’s now many ways to extend the life of your spectacles, without causing as much harm to the planet - and maybe even making some money while you’re at it.
1. Donate your old glasses to charity
In developed countries like the UK, we’re used to having easy and affordable access to prescription eyewear. But in many parts of the world, getting good quality eye care is extremely hard. According to one recent study, 2.5 billion people in developing countries who would benefit from glasses simply cannot access them today. If you wear prescription glasses yourself, you’ll know first-hand just how hard it is to navigate the world without them, so giving old frames to charity can be really helpful.
So, where can you donate old glasses to help people in developing countries? There are now several charities which accept old frames to donate to people who need them. At Fashion Eyewear, we’ve partnered with the charity Vision Action Overseas, who provide eyecare and glasses to people in several African countries (Lions Club is another big charity providing frames, eye treatment and prescriptions). You can send old glasses direct to us, or contact charities yourself to enquire about donating your used spectacles.
2. Sell the old glasses
Another way to reduce your environmental impact while making money is to sell your old glasses online. Various websites, including eBay, PreLoved and Vinted allow you to sell old glasses frames. You don’t have to remove the prescription lens yourself - the customer can do this themselves (by taking them to their own optician).
Bear in mind that selling old glasses frames on the internet tends to be most successful if they’re made by well-known brands, or if they have a particularly trendy or unusual design. To successfully sell your old glasses on the internet, it’s worth taking the time to take some good quality pictures, providing links to any information about the brand or design, and writing up a description of the eyewear - including information on any damage.
Besides selling your old glasses frames online, you might also have some success taking them to local ‘flea markets’, vintage clothing stores or street markets. If your old glasses are made by famous brands, then traders might offer you cash on the spot. Similarly, antiques dealers might be interested if your old glasses are ‘classic’ designs (perhaps you’ve inherited some designer sunglasses, for instance).
A final option for selling old glasses is by taking them to a pawnbroker (in person or online). Again, you’ll have more luck if you’re selling frames by recognised brands.
3. Repair the old glasses
In today’s culture, we often throw things away at the first sign of damage. But by learning how to repair broken spectacles, you can make a perfectly good pair of glasses last months, or even years longer.
Before looking at how to repair spectacles, it’s worth assessing what can and can’t be done at home. Some kinds of damage to glasses require skills, equipment and techniques that most people won’t be able to do themselves. For things like cracked lenses, damaged hinges or broken metal arms, doing it yourself might not be the best idea. You could end up doing further damage, so it’s best to take your specs to an optician (ideally the store you bought them at).
On the other hand, some DIY fixes are perfectly fine to do by yourself:
- Bent nose pad: You can often tease the nose pad back into place by applying gentle pressure with your fingers, or by using a pair of pliers.
- Cracked frames, bridges or rims: If the frame is made from acetate (plastic) it’s often possible to simply clean the frame then carefully apply glue to hold the cracked parts together. An alternative method is to use tape (simply wrap sellotape around the broken parts of the frame).
- Scratched lenses: Minor scratches on lenses don’t mean the end of your glasses. To fix small scratches, simply apply non-gel toothpaste or a baking soda and water paste to the scratch, then gently rub to buff out the scratch. Next, clean the lens with dish soap and dry with a microfibre cloth. For more detail, read our blog on fixing scratched lenses.
4. Recycle the old glasses
Recycling old glasses is a great way of making the materials used in your spectacles last longer, and avoids unnecessarily sending them to landfill. There are now many old glasses recycling schemes where you simply drop used specs off, and they’re taken care of. Some councils have special recycling boxes at refuse centres, and they may even accept them in curbside recycling (check with your local council first). Many independent opticians and chains also have boxes outside their premises where you can drop them off too.
When you recycle old glasses in the UK, they’re usually sent to a specialist recycling company who’ll break them down into their constituent parts. Metal frames are often made of things like stainless steel, nickel or even titanium. These can all be sold on for a profit. The acetate in plastic glasses might be shredded and pressed into a board with lots of other plastic. It can then be used in any manner of industries - even as feedstock for a new set of specs!
5. Trade in the old glasses
Another great option for dealing with used spectacles is to trade in old glasses. At Fashion Eyewear, we run a scheme where you send us your used spectacles (at no cost to you). We’ll then assess the condition of the glasses, and credit your account for your next order.
If your trade in glasses frames are in a good enough condition to resell, we refurbish and clean them, then make them available on the Preloved Frames section of our website. That means another customer will get plenty of use out of them. For other glasses, we may send them to Vision Action Overseas, our charity partner, so they can donate them to people in need. In either case, you get credit to use on your next pair of glasses, all while fostering the ‘circular economy’.
Benefits of trading in old glasses and sunglasses
Choosing to trade in old glasses for money is, arguably, the best option - since it achieves many of the same goals as the other approaches, while also allowing you to get something out of it! Here’s how:
- Charity: Trading in glasses with our scheme means your used spectacles could be donated to a trusted charity.
- Selling: Trading in glasses is similar to selling them, in the sense that you get credit in return. We’ll offer you a fair price for your used spectacles, and save you the time and energy involved in posting them online or visiting high street shops.
- Repairing: Our skilled technicians have all the tools and skills to repair any damaged old glasses, and, very often, can get them as good as new!
What to do with old glasses
There are now more opportunities to trade in, refurbish, recycle or donate your used glasses than ever before. So, now you know what to do with old prescription glasses, don’t miss out on the opportunity to help the planet - and maybe even earn some credit while you’re doing so!