In recent years, the culture has become more aware of plastic waste. Here is the thing: we don't know of a whole lot of municipal recycling programs that accept old sunglasses. So what is a customer to do when it's time to send that old pair of shades off to retirement?
We have some suggestions. We also think that you, as a retailer, could connect with your customers by encouraging them to find other ways to deal with old sunglasses rather than throwing them in the trash can.
Recycling Old Sunglasses
Although municipal recycling programs do not necessarily take old sunglasses, recycling shades is possible. For example, did you know that the Lions Club partners with Walmart to collect and recycle eyewear and hearing aids? Check with your local Walmart Vision Center and see if they take sunglasses. If not, there are other options.
There are multiple organizations out there doing their part to recycle plastic. One of them is known as TerraCycle. As a retailer, your physical location could become a drop off point for all sunglasses, prescription eyewear, ski goggles, etc.
TerraCycle would send you a recycling box to place in a prominent location in your store. Customers would drop their old sunglasses into the box on their next visit. Once the box is full, you seal it up and ship it to TerraCycle. They manage the rest.
Repair Old Sunglasses
You might also encourage your customers to repair their old sunglasses. Maybe a pair is headed for the trash can because one of the lenses is scratched. There are a small number of companies that sell replacement lenses. You can find them online.
Your customers can also buy eyewear repair kits online and at most neighborhood pharmacies. A typical kit includes extra screws along with nose pieces. There is no guarantee that a broken pair of sunglasses can be repaired, but at least investigating the possibility is worth a few minutes of a consumer's time.
Repairing sunglasses not only keeps them out of the landfill, but it also offers the opportunity to keep a spare pair just in case a consumer's main pair is lost or damaged. And knowing how frequently our sunglasses reach an untimely fate, keeping an extra pair around isn't a bad idea.
Upcycle Old Sunglasses
Some very creative people have figured out ways to upcycle old sunglasses rather than discarding them. If you are not familiar with the upcycling idea, it is similar to recycling except with a bit of a twist: instead of sending old sunglasses to be melted down and turned into other plastic products, you keep them and turn them into something else yourself.
A site like Pinterest is a virtual treasure trove of up cycling ideas. We did a cursory search and discovered old sunglasses being upcycled to become:
- Small photo frames.
- Pieces of art.
- Christmas ornaments.
- Parts for custom jewelry.
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