
Although a solar eclipse only occurs once in a while, Torontonians can reuse their glasses or make sure to properly dispose of them.
However, it’s probably not wise to use the glasses as a substitute for regular sunglasses, as they block out everything except the sun.
Instead, people can use them to look at the sun and check for sunspots, according to Western University Physics and Astronomy professor Jan Cami.
Sunspots are the most visible manifestation of the sun’s activity which are the darkest spots visible by eye, according to nonprofit organization Astronomers Without Borders.
If people want to keep their glasses for another solar eclipse, they can store them in a book to avoid damaging them, according to Cami.
For people who are ready to toss out their glasses, there is an ideal method to dispose of them.
“If people want to discard them, ideally separate the ‘lenses’ from the frame. The frame goes into the paper recycling; the lens material into the garbage,” Cami told Now Toronto.
People have made TikTok videos showing how to do this separation process.
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The glasses are also eligible for donation if they’re gently worn and there hasn’t been any fatal damage to the lenses.
Here are places where people can donate their glasses in the GTA:
- The Astronomy and Astrophysics Building at the University of Toronto is accepting glasses to be redistributed during future eclipses for free
- The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Hamilton Centre
- Various libraries around the GTA , like the Oakville Public Library and the Hamilton Public Library