Auburn Lions Club and von Reichbauer Team Up to Recycle Lost Glasses

“When I first got elected, I learned that Metro drivers collected glasses left on buses, often discarding hundreds of glasses throughout the year,” said King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer. “I began a program to recycle these glasses and donate them to deserving people in our community, and I am glad that we could partner with the Auburn Lions on this project.”

In early October von Reichbauer donated over 1,000 prescription glasses, sunglasses, and cases to the Auburn Lions Club.  Lion club members across the country undertake sight-related service projects to help the blind and visually impaired in honor of the legacy of Helen Keller.

These glasses, left on transit buses across the County, will find new users across the region.

Lions Club International “The Journey of Recycled Glasses”

1. Lions and Leos collect used eyeglasses at various community locations.

2. The glasses are shipped to the nearest Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center where trained volunteers sort, clean, and determine the prescription strengths of the glasses.

3. Volunteers at the recycling center carefully package the prepared glasses and store them until they are required for eyeglass dispensing missions. Glasses that are not suitable for reuse are recycled for scrap,
with the earnings benefitting local Lions and Leos projects.

4. At the mission site, eye care professionals and trained Lion and Leo volunteers perform vision screenings and dispense the appropriate recycled glasses, free of charge, to children and adults in need.

Here is where you can contact King County Metro if you ever lose your glasses or any item on a King County Metro bus.

The above is a press release from the office of King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbaur.  The Auburn Examiner has added the portion regarding the Lion’s Club and King County Metro but has otherwise not independently verified its contents and encourages our readers to personally verify any information they find may be overly biased or questionable. The publication of this press release does not indicate an endorsement of its contents.