Eyeglass Recycling

Eyeglass Recycling in Western Massachusetts

Since 1994, District 33Y has processed an estimated 90,000 pairs of glasses. Over the years, we have changed our procedures many times. We started out sending all of our glasses to MMI (Medical Missions International) who had a warehouse in Miami, Fl. from which they sent all the glasses to their processing center in the Dominion Republic.

When MMI schedules an eye mission in one of the 15 to 25 countries that they service, they randomly select 5,000 pair of glasses all cleaned, read, bagged and sorted ready for dispensing and located by computer in their separate containers. MMI also maintains an active eye clinic in Santo Domingo, where they dispense glasses all year.

In approximately 1996 we started to support Dr. John Galt. He was a member of MMI and was leading eye missions to Ecuador, but could not get the glasses that MMI sent through customs. To get the glasses through customs, we starting sorting the good glasses we received. After washing and packing them for eyeglass reading sessions at Dr Galt’s office, we had to read the prescription, record those numbers on cards, place in plastic snap bags, then sort by positive or negative, single lens or bifocal and put into 6 different strength groups for each category, for ease in dispensing. Dr. Galt had his workers hand carry all the glasses into Ecuador as luggage. Total glasses by year: 1996 - 5,119, 1997 - 5,487, 1998 - 6,103, 1999 - 1,650. Unfortunately in 1999, Dr. Galt’s wife became seriously ill and he retired.

In 2000, Joanne Foreman, a missionary working in Honduras was referred to us. She needed low power, positive type glasses with a bifocal add of 2 or more. We sorted out 850 pairs and processed them like we did Dr. Galt's.

In 2001, the Berkshire Mission Group approached us; a group associated with the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Berkshire, Ma. to provide glasses for their Medical and Construction missions. They traveled to a large island off Honduras and we processed approx. 1,570 pair of single lens and readers that they dispensed while building a school and a playground.

This year, the Berkshire Mission Group is going to a village named La Colonia Mixta, which is near the city of El Neba in the Dominion Republic, early in Feb. We have been sorting glasses all year, and have cleaned, read, etc. 500 pair of readers, and about 2,200 pair of single type lens (mostly positive). The Berkshire Mission Group does not have a professional orthoptic person to aid in dispensing the glasses, so we sort out the high cylinder glasses (per Dr. Galt's suggestion). Also, this group is taking all the sunglasses we get. Prior to this, we had no use for the sunglasses. We gave them about 300 pairs of sunglasses to see how it goes. When they get back we will have a better idea of the value of recycling sunglasses.

Around 2001, after Dr. Galt stopped going to Equator, we started supporting Dr. Lynde Kimbal, an optometrist working in Battleboro, Vt., who was supported by the Vermont Lions Clubs. We sort out a particular type that he wants, which have to be clean and fairly new, (no tri-focal, high power, or high cylinder). Dr. Kimbal and his wife go on two or three eye missions per year to Honduras. The glasses that we donate go to the Bennington Lions, who check them over, clean them, and forward them to a group of school children (Lions Quest) who do an additional sort - adult and children. The doctor sorts, reads, bags and packs during the summer months. Last year, we gave the Bennington Lions 14 boxes of glasses weighting about 340 pounds, and this year we have sent 5 boxes weighting 124 pounds.

For the many thousands of glasses that do not fit the categories we are looking for, we box and ship in bulk to various locations. From 1995-2002, we shipped 371 boxes weighing 9,377 pounds. For the first 7 years, we shipped to the MMI warehouse in Miami, Fl. This center was moved to McAllen, Texas and in May 2002, we started sending our unwanted glasses to a NJ Lions regional collection center in West Trenton maintained by Katzenbach School for the Deaf. The Lions prepare the glasses like we do and provide a large quantity to any organization that requests them formally and ships them directly to the mission site. So far we have shipped 15 boxes weighting 360 pounds to the NJ site.

The first task in eyeglass recycling is obviously collection. Paul Deame, PDG Paul Snow, Ann Snow and Gary Lewis act as a central collection point for the eyeglasses that the clubs collect. They then discard all empty and broken frames, and scratched lenses.  A lot of the work is done at work-bees. We use 10 to 15 workers for about 3 1/2 hours at each work bee. We have conducted about 20 sessions over the years. Dr. Galt provided the facilities and professional advice. We ship via UPS to Miami.

The few hearing aids we get we either ship to a firm in Colorado or take to a department in the Berkshire Medical Center (BMC)

What can your club do to help?

• Have eyeglass collection locations in your city or town. 
• Sort through the ones you collect and discard the broken and empty frames. 
• Count the number of eyeglasses you turn over and report this on you monthly activity report. (Lions International wants this number on your Annual Report.)
  
• Label the boxes you turn in with your club name.