Spectacle recycling

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE USED SPECS?

Specs are collected by Lions Clubs around the country and sent to Chichester Lions Club. Here they are sorted by members in a small workshop and those suitable for recycling are sent to Medico France in Le Havre who then clean and grade the spectacles ready for use in Eye Camps in clinics and eye hospitals:

via Medico France in Le Havres
providing volunteers from ‘Unite for Sight’ charity to take on missions to countries across the world
directly to known contacts undertaking eye clinics in
- Papua New Guinea
- Ghana
- Nigeria
- Nepal

Harpenden Lions Club has collected used spectacles for many years. To donate please deposit them in the clearly marked swing bins that can be found in the following places:

Skye Optometrists, 1 Bowers Parade, Harpenden, AL5 2SH
Lydon & Shirazi, Kinsbourne Court, 100 Luton Rd, Harpenden AL5 3BL
The Co-operative supermarket, 130 Southdown Rd, Harpenden. AL5 1PU
Redbourn Health Centre, 1 Hawkes Drive, Redbourn. AL3 7BL
Davenport House Surgery. Bowers Way, Harpenden. AL5 4HX
The Hearing Healthcare Practice. 26 The Foresters, High St, Harpenden. AL5 2FB

Email from Papua New Guinea:

Just to let you know how useful the glasses are here in PNG, and to thank you and Medico for all the work to make their safe arrival so successful.
The eye clinic is developing in leaps and bounds – exciting to see so many people benefiting.
We have now started school screening and have improved the vision for a lot of children.
Last year we did over 200 operations for cataract – there is a huge demand for surgery as this island had never had any eye care. We are due another 2 week operating session, so there is a lot to organise.
The Fred Hollows Foundation, which I am now working with developing a project for extending eye services throughout West New Britain, have been enormously supportive. One of their projects is to supply low cost ready-made glasses, for which we make a small profit, enabling us to buy more and supplement the cost of medications. We are so grateful to you for kick starting this project and thank Lions for all their hard work and encouragement.
This is an amazing country but with a desperately underfunded health service and eye care is not seen as a priority. The recipients of glasses have been thrilled to be able to read and study again.

Funds from specs recycling

Recycling scrap material from broken and unsuitable spectacles yields funds supporting the sorting operation and to give financial support to eye related projects in the UK and overseas.

Over 5 years in excess of £200,000 donations have been made from funds generated by this project.

What Happens To Used Or Broken Hearing Aids?

Hastings Lions Club collects and recycles used hearing aids and are keen to receive these and other equipment related to the diagnosis and treatment of deafness. They are repaired and bring into use most types of hearing aid.

Repaired and in full working order, hearing aids are distributed mostly to Africa and Eastern Europe.

We also send any unwanted hearing aids, analogue or digital, broken or working that we receive to Chichester Lions Club with any audiological equipment donated. Once repaired and in full working order, hearing aids are distributed to Africa and Eastern European countries. A team from HMP Frankland refurbish and renovate audiological equipment donated. This is then sent to the Starky Foundation and used on International hearing missions.

Countries supplied hearing equipment:

Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Gambia, Gaza, Goa, India, Indonesian Borneo, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nigeria, The Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Syria, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, The Ukraine, the former Yugoslavia, and Zimbabwe

Sound Seekers and Starkey Hearing Foundation help ensure the refurbished equipment reaches the people who need it most.