All items · Health & beauty
Prescription glasses
Also covers: spectacles, reading glasses, eyeglasses
Almost all say no
14 refuse it outright — but 1 takes it under conditions. Evidence: 15 direct.
Why shops refuse it
Prescriptions are personal, so shops can't resell them — several charities that used to collect them no longer do.
What to do instead
Many opticians (including large chains) still collect old glasses for recycling schemes.
Charity by charity
-
Can't accept
British Heart Foundation
Their wording
“Prescription spectacles”
-
Can't accept
British Red Cross
Their wording
“Prescription glasses”
-
Can't accept
Cancer Research UK
Their wording
“Prescription eyewear or sunglasses without UVA/UVB Mark”
-
Can't accept
Cornwall Hospice Care
Their wording
“Prescription spectacles”
-
Can't accept
Dorothy House
Their wording
“Prescription spectacles”
-
Can't accept
FARA Charity Shops
They suggest recycling via opticians' schemes instead.
-
Can't accept
Great Western Air Ambulance Charity
Their wording
“Medication or medical equipment (including prescription glasses)”
-
Can't accept
Overgate Hospice
Their wording
“Prescription spectacles”
-
Can't accept
Princess Alice Hospice
Their wording
“Prescription spectacles”
-
Can't accept
Shaw Trust
Donors are redirected to opticians' recycling schemes.
Their wording
“opticians (spectacles)”
-
Can't accept
St Barnabas Hospice (Lincolnshire)
Their wording
“Prescription spectacles”
-
Can't accept
St Christopher's Hospice
Their wording
“Prescription glasses”
-
Can't accept
St Peter's Hospice
Their wording
“Prescriptions spectacles”
-
Can't accept
The Children's Trust
Their wording
“Prescriptions spectacles.”
-
Check first
Salvation Army (SATCoL)
Only accepted if the lens strength is indicated.
Their wording
“prescription spectacles with no indication of lens strength”
Not mentioned in 29 charities' guidance
Absence from a charity's list doesn't mean they accept it — it just isn't singled out. Ask your local shop.
- Not mentioned Acorns Children's Hospice
- Not mentioned Age UK
- Not mentioned Barnardo's
- Not mentioned Claire House Children's Hospice
- Not mentioned Crisis
- Not mentioned DEBRA
- Not mentioned Dogs Trust
- Not mentioned Emmaus
- Not mentioned Keech Hospice Care
- Not mentioned LOROS Hospice
- Not mentioned Marie Curie
- Not mentioned Octavia Foundation
- Not mentioned Oxfam
- Not mentioned PDSA
- Not mentioned Phyllis Tuckwell
- Not mentioned Samaritans
- Not mentioned Save the Children
- Not mentioned Scope
- Not mentioned Sense Scotland
- Not mentioned Shelter
- Not mentioned St Giles Hospice
- Not mentioned St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP)
- Not mentioned Sue Ryder
- Not mentioned Traid
- Not mentioned Trinity Hospice (Blackpool)
- Not mentioned Wales Air Ambulance
- Not mentioned Willen Hospice
- Not mentioned Woodgreen Pets Charity
- Not mentioned YMCA (England & Wales)