Member News

SWACO Partnerships Create Opportunities to Recycle Solar Eclipse Glasses

April 3rd, 2024

As reported by NASA, on Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. 

The state of Ohio and many parts of central Ohio are in the path of totality. With much anticipation and excitement building around the safe viewing of the eclipse, central Ohio businesses, non-profits and others are getting in on the fun with the distribution of solar eclipse glasses and local media outlets are reporting that hundreds of thousands of these glasses have already been distributed. 

SWACO and partners, including the city of Columbus, Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks, and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, are teaming up to collect these used but undamaged eclipse glasses for reuse.

Through a partnership with Solar Eclipse USA, the collected glasses will be sent to schools in Latin America and distributed to school-aged children so they can safely view the October 2024 Annular Eclipse.

Franklin County residents can participate in two easy ways.

  1. Attend a participating local eclipse viewing watch party like this one at the Columbus Zoo or one of these Columbus & Franklin County Metro Parks in the path of totality (Glacier Ridge, Highbanks, Homestead, Prairie Oaks and Sharon Woods) and leave your glasses in the available collection containers prior to leaving the event. 
  2. Drop off your gently used solar eclipse glasses at one of the following locations before April 30, 2024. Collection locations include:
    • SWACO Recycling Convenience Center, 2566 Jackson Pike, Columbus
    • Columbus Waste & Reuse Center, 2100 Alum Creek, Columbus
    • Participating Columbus & Franklin County Metro Park Nature Centers at: 
      • Battelle Darby Creek, 1775 Darby Creek Drive, Galloway
      • Blacklick Woods, 6975 E. Livingston Avenue, Reynoldsburg
      • ​Blendon Woods, 4265 E. Dublin Granville Road, Columbus
      • Highbanks, 9466 Columbus Pike, Lewis Center

Please don’t put solar eclipse glasses in with household recycling. Due to the mixed material nature of eclipse-viewing glasses, the glasses are not accepted as part of Franklin County’s curbside recycling program.

For information on Franklin County’s recycling program, visit recycleright.org.