Lions Clubs Recycle Used Eyeglasses

Please donate your unused eyewear so that others can see.

 

The Need for Glasses – 153 Million Reasons Lions Recycle for Sight

According to The World Health Organization, 153 million people have uncorrected refractive errors (near-sightedness, far-sightedness or astigmatism).  Most of these vision impairments are quickly diagnosed and easy to treat with corrective lenses.

Still, millions of people in developing nations are pushed deeper into poverty simply because they don't have corrective eyeglasses.  They can't learn, because reading is difficult.  They can't work to the best of their ability, because they can't see clearly.

For children, clear vision means a better education, healthier development and a better quality of life.  For adults, it means greater employment opportunity and economic strength.  For seniors it means less dependence on others.

In 1925, Helen Keller challenged LIONS  to become "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness." And we accepted. Today, sight programs remain one of our defining causes.

Lions clubs around the world collect millions of eyeglasses each year to address the need for glasses, making eyeglass recycling one of our most popular and rewarding activities.

Lions clubs send collected eyeglasses to one of our 18 official  Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centres in the world.  The Canadian Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centre (CLERC) is in Calgary, Alberta.

Once the CLERC has prepared the glasses they are given to qualified missions delivering glasses to the needy around the world.  In 2013 the the distribution of glasses from the CLERC reached these areas:  Africa 38%, Central America 22%, South Asia 19%, Aouth America 13%, Europe 8%, and Middle East 1%.

In 2016 the Lions Clubs of District A-711 (the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area) collected and shipped over 135,000 pairs of glasses to our Recycling Centres in Canada.  These glasses will find themselves used on Missions throughout the Americas and elsewhere around the world as noted above.

Types of Eyeglasses we collect

We collect new and used reading, single vision, bifocal, children, safety, swim gogles with prescription lenses and both prescription and non-prescription Sunglasses (clip-ons and glasses).  Glasses may consist of glasses in frames, frames only, or uncut lenses.

We also now collect broken glasses and loose lenses.  We have partners to our recycling centres who will recover metals and other components from broken glasses.  Your loose lenses are shredded, mixed with reflective paint and used for highway lines.

Results: In our Lions year July 2016- June 2017 the Lions Clubs in the Greater Toronto Hamilton area shipped over 145,000 pair of used eyewear to our Recyling Centres.

Where can I drop off used Eyeglasses:

Lions Clubs have collection points across Canada.  While our club operates in Mississauga.  You will find below places you can drop your glasses of in our city.

Click here:  http://www.recycleforsight.ca  to see your closest collection point on a map anywhere in Canada.

To find a location close to you in Mississauga please review the following list (in postal code order):

For more collection points across all of Canada visit: www.RecycleForSight.ca