Spectacle Recycling

Lion Bob Brown leads our Club’s participation in the UK-wide Lions Clubs’ Spectacle Recycling Project.
A number of recycling bins are in place at opticians around the Woodbridge area. Our main supplier is Specsavers, in the Thoroughfare, where we have two bins at the shop, see picture below. We also collect from the Burlington Road Surgery in Ipswich. On average we send away roughly 850-1000 pairs per month.

Our thanks to all members of the public for kindly donating their used spectacles which make a huge difference to the lives of many less fortunate people around the world.

What happens to the spectacles that you donate?

There are two central recycling centres, one in Chichester and the latest one to open is within Lions Clubs National Headquarters in Birmingham which opened in October 2021.

Once glasses are collected by our Lions Club they are sent on to Birmingham where they are sorted.

• Some of the spectacles will be recycled to have a second use if they are broken or unsuitable spectacles.
• Some of the spectacles go on to help children and adults in developing countries to enjoy a better quality of life. Many will experience corrected vision for the first time, enabling them to read, attend school, gain employment and take care of their families.
• Countries that have received spectacles include Brazil, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Senegal, Greece, Amazon River Basin, Nepal, Ethiopia, Jordan, Cuba, Mongolia, Peru, Honduras, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Panama and Indonesia.
• Some specs are traded and any donations we receive from this are used in our Sight Projects across the world.

All the support in donating spectacles is very gratefully received and will go a long way to play a key role in the success of this most worthwhile project.

We are always inspired by donations of spectacles which allow us “TO SERVE” local, national and international communities.