City of Mesquite launches Eclipse Glasses Roundup

The City of Mesquite is launching the Eclipse Glasses Roundup on May 15 to collect gently used viewing spectacles left over from the total solar eclipse on April 8.

Solar viewing glasses in good condition do no expire and can be reused. Many communities, including Mesquite, that will not be in the path of another solar eclipse for many years are collecting glasses to send to other places that can use them sooner.

Scientists say there are two to five solar eclipses per year with the next total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. It will be viewable from the Arctic, eastern Greenland, northern Spain and Iceland. The next total solar eclipse visible in the United States will be in August 2044.

Solar eclipse viewing glasses collected in Mesquite will be donated to Astronomers Without Borders, a nonprofit organization that has a network of collection hubs in the U.S. and Canada. The group collected more than 2 million glasses after the 2017 total solar eclipse and redistributed some 300,000 pairs before the 2024 eclipse.

Mesquite's Eclipse Glasses Roundup will run from May 15 to July 15. Please check solar glasses before donating. Glasses that have scratched, ripped or punctured lenses or detached solar filters from the frame cannot be recycled and should be discarded.

Collection sites in Mesquite:

• Mesquite Main Library, 300 W. Grubb Dr.
• North Branch Library, 2600 Oates Dr.
• Mesquite City Hall, 757 N. Galloway Ave.
• Mesquite Municipal Center, 1515 N. Galloway Ave.
• Dunford Recreation Center, 1015 Green Canyon Dr.
• Evans Recreation Center, 1116 Hillcrest St.
• Florence Recreation Center, 2501 Whitson Way
• Rutherford Recreation Center, 900 Rutherford Dr.