Sustainability Showdown: For the vision impaired, the sustainable choice is clear


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The inevitable has happened — my vision is getting worse. As the child of parents who both donned glasses, I knew this would happen someday, but I hoped it would be in the far-off future. I blame the fact that I stare at various screens all day, so really, this is my journalism major’s fault. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve learned to love my glasses. They make me feel confident in a weird type of way. But, I don’t enjoy wearing them for special occasions, like going out or at my upcoming graduation. And my frames don’t particularly go well with the bridesmaid dress I’m set to wear at my cousin’s wedding in May.

So I went to my optometrist and got myself a year’s supply of daily contacts. I apparently have sensitive eyes, and daily contacts were the only kind soft enough to prevent my eyes from turning stoner red after an hour. 

I wear these contacts when I choose to, and then I throw them away. The rest of the time, I wear my glasses. It hit me one day during a hike, as I communed with the nature that I dearly love — I was contributing to the unsustainable culture I so despised by wearing these disposable, non-biodegradable lenses.

But my glasses are also made of non-biodegradable materials that would most likely eventually end up at a landfill as well. Which was better for the environment? I pondered, as I stared at a bird that was definitely staring back. 

Let’s break it down. According to a 2003 study done by Eurolens Researchers, daily use contacts worn 360 days of the year add up to 953 grams of plastic, or just over two pounds, in a year’s time. Monthly lenses, including cases and lens solution bottles, produce 549 grams of plastic. 

However, glasses use a varying degree of non-biodegradable material as well. But unlike lenses, glasses can be donated and reused by someone else.

“A three-year period use of lenses emits 163 times more carbon dioxide and uses 197 times more energy than the use of eyeglasses,” a 2015 Technical University of Denmark study said.

In addition, most people who use contact lens also have a pair of glasses for “emergencies” or when their eyes need a break from contacts. Overall, it’s clear that glasses are more sustainable than contacts, especially if they’re recycled. 

There are some pretty cool companies out there selling glasses frames made from recycled materials, and some are even producing frames created using plastic collected from the ocean. 

In the larger scheme of things, contact lenses and eyeglasses aren’t contributing that much waste. Even with the least sustainable option —  

daily contacts — only about two pounds of plastic waste per wearer is being created each year. That’s miniscule compared to the nearly 1,500 pounds of waste the Environmental Protection Agency estimates the average American creates each year. 

So, while being conscious about how your eyewear of choice is contributing to pollution, it’s also crucial to pay attention to how much waste you create in every area of your life. Especially since scientists are finding plastic in everything from fish to human stool. 

Katherine Wiles is a senior writing about environmentalism and sustainability. Her column, “Sustainability Showdown,” runs every other Wednesday.