From the Washington Post, an eco expert who goes by green lantern, was asked if it would be better for the earth if everyone who wore contact lenses switched over to glasses. The train of thought is that since contact lenses, and all the stuff that goes along with it are not long-lasting, because they have to throw them away and they don’t last very long. Sometimes ranging from 1 week to 1 month. With all this disregarding of the old contacts does it hurt just like throwing away other perishables?

The fact is that if you add up all the contact lenses that someone uses in a year worth of using them, you will get under 10g of plastic that is produced. Eye glasses will actually take up around 35 grams of plastic. The fact also remains that when you have contacts, or colored contacts in some cases, you also need the cleaning solution, cases and other accessories so those also add to it.

Despite the fact that if you overdo it, contact lenses do create around three pounds of plastic, metal and trash per year, but if you wear monthly contacts, they are about 2 and a half pounds per month. Not very much considering most people do about 1,600 ounds of waste.

Ultimately it will matter how and what kind of contact lenses you plan on using; and if you are considering your effect on the our world and planet, it’s probably just about the same as wearing glasses when everything is said and not. It won’t really matter that much, and there are far more important things you can do to make sure you are as green as you can be. It all starts with one person, remember that.