There are 2 million people in the UK living with sight loss (healthwatch.co.uk) – which means for a lot of us, eyewear is an essential. However, sadly, both glasses and contact lenses are not waste-free. The UK throws over 750 million contact lenses down the drain or into landfill every year, which inevitably end up filling oceans with microplastics (opticalexpress.co.uk). Meanwhile, eyewear frames from glasses are cut from a sheet material acetate with a staggering 80 per cent of this plastic being thrown away. So how can we keep a better eye on our planet and our vision? We take a look at the options.
Contact lenses are a more convenient choice for some as they cause less vision distortions and obstructions. For example, unlike glasses, there is no fear of them getting in the way or even breaking when playing sports and exercising. However, contact lenses are not biodegradable, nor do they last long periods of time as they are built for either daily or monthly use, meaning they have to be disposed of regularly.
“Typically all lenses are made from CR39 plastic resin, which is incredibly hard to recycle,” says Freddie Elborne, founder of sustainable eyewear brand, MONC (monclondon.com). “However, it’s very hard to avoid using this material when offering optical lenses because of the extensive diversity of prescriptions out there, and the cost of producing.”
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February 2020
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