Plastic bottle caps fund free eyeglasses in Argentina
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Fundación Boreal in Argentina collects plastic bottle caps and transforms them into frames for free eyeglasses, providing vision care to people who cannot afford it.
The organization began collecting caps to support Hospital Garrahan, then discovered a way to use the plastic to manufacture eyeglasses themselves. Currently operating in 11 provinces, Fundación Boreal has already helped 18,542 people access vision care through mobile medical units and now, with its own manufacturing plant.
The foundation processes the caps by shredding them into raw material for the frames, and recently added a lens-cutting machine to create prescription lenses between 0.5 and 5 diopters. They are currently developing molds to produce frames in a variety of designs and colors, with colorful models proving especially popular with children and young people.
Fundación Boreal plans to launch a second phase of its “Eco Canje” program, offering a pair of polarized sunglasses in exchange for 300 recycled bottle caps, to further encourage community participation and plastic reuse. Mario Koltan, CEO of Grupo Boreal, described seeing people cry with joy when they received their first pair of glasses and could begin to distinguish colors.
