'Avatar' 3 D Glasses Get Recycled

Avatar has nine Oscar nominations and is poised to become the highest-grossing movie of all time, but the film is also contributing to a bit of forward-thinking eco-friendliness — not just in its underlying message, but by recycling the 3-D glasses that over 75 percent of the Avatar viewers have worn since the movie opened on December 16. (What, did you think they were just getting shipped off to the planet of Pandora?)

In fact, USA Today reports that if all the 3-D glasses, roughly 42.1 million pair, were to be laid end-to-end, they would stretch over 3,987 miles. That could represent an environmental nightmare, but thankfully, preparations were put into place for proper reuse: IMAX, for example, says their glasses can be washed up to 500 times, and another 3-D exhibitor of the film, Real-D, hands out cardboard containers viewers can drop their glasses into as they exit the theater — boxes which can then be shipped back to the facility so glasses can be cleaned, inspected, and then shipped back out to theaters to be used again. With over 700,000 pairs of glasses used daily in Real-D theaters alone, had the company not taken the steps to insure they don't pile in landfills, environmentalists and movie-goers could have been crying "cut!" on this action.

3-D glasses seem to be all the rage lately: the Michael Jackson tribute at Sunday's Grammy Awards employed them — how cute did Beyonce look in hers?! — and there's even talk of bringing 3-D television technology to your very own living room by next year.

As director James Cameron told 60 Minutes' Morley Safer, when dealing with making movies driven by special effects, it all comes down "to right in the eyes."

And, apparently, the glasses sitting on the nose in front of them.

Photo courtesy of WikimediaCommons