Here's what you should do with your solar eclipse glasses

With millions of pairs of solar eclipse glasses now in people's homes, the question remains: what do we do with them now?

Before tossing them in the recycling bin, it is worth noting that a partial eclipse will occur in under a year.

"We encourage everyone to keep their glasses," said Montreal Planetarium spokesperson Anne Bourgoin. "They can be used to observe the sun and future solar eclipses, such as the partial eclipse on March 29, 2025."

CTV News science and technology specialist Dan Riskin said the glasses can work to observe an unobscured sun on any bright day.

"The sun is something that... we never look at, because it hurts," he said. "They're best for eclipses, but those glasses, they still have a use."

Those who don't want their glasses can also turn them into the Planetarium, which is a collection point for the Astronomers Without Borders glasses recycling program.

The City of Cornwall Fire Services office in Ontario is another relatively near drop-off point.

The US-based program has been sending solar glasses for eclipses since 2008 and "helped to bring glasses to people who may not otherwise have a safe way to view the eclipse directly," the organization's website reads.

The glasses dropped off at the Planetarium in Montreal will be checked and redistributed free of charge by Astronomers Without Borders.

"In this way, the glasses are reused for educational and humanitarian purposes while also having a positive impact on the environment," said Bourgoin.

The Astronomers Without Borders program only carries American Paper Optics and Rainbow Symphony eyewear as they are the only manufacturers the program recognizes for making glasses strong enough to be stored for years, the Planetarium said.

Glasses can be sent to the Planetarium by mail or dropped off in person.

The next total solar eclise is slated to occur on Aug. 12, 2026 and touch Greenland, Iceland and northern Russia, in addition to a small part of Portugal and Spain, according to NASA.