Don't throw out those eclipse glasses - you can donate them to students in South America

If you still have your safety glasses from Monday's eclipse, don't throw them out yet. 

Rockhaven Realty in Waterdown will take your used, good condition glasses and donate them to students in South America for the next eclipse later this year. 

Wendy Martin, a realtor with Rockhaven, came up with the idea on Monday afternoon, after watching the full two hours of the eclipse in her driveway. 

"I thought, 'There's going to be all of these glasses... Now what the heck? Are they all going to go to a landfill?'" she said. 

McMaster University gave out around 600,000 pairs of eclipse glasses for Monday's solar event alone, and while the glasses are mostly made of cardboard, the protective film is not recyclable. 

Martin said she happened to see a social media post about a group called Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) based in the United States. AWB is accepting solar eclipse glasses and will redistribute them to students. 

On Oct. 2, 2024 an annular eclipse will move through southern Chile and southern Argentina. This eclipse will be partial, not like the total eclipse seen in Hamilton region on Monday. The sun will be mostly covered, leaving a ring of fire. 

Martin said Rockhaven Realty has already received about 100 pairs from the Flamborough community, and is teaming up with the Oakville Library and the YMCA to collect and ship the donations to AWB. 

"We may be receiving a lot more than we expected," Martin said. 

If you would like to donate your used glasses, you can drop them off in the mail slot at 113-170 Rockhaven Ln. 

Martin will collect glasses until April 30.