While solar uptake has risen rapidly across the nation — particularly in outer suburban areas of the North Shore — the system we have in place to deal with old panels has failed to catch up.
What’s the situation: Solar panels are a relatively simple technology. They largely consist of plastic, glass and metal, all of which can be separated and recycled. They also include copper and silver, materials in shortage globally.
But Australia currently lacks an overarching framework to ensure the recycling of solar panels. This means the vast majority of our solar panels — full of useful materials — are either exported overseas or go to landfill.
Solution in reach: According to energy expert Darren Johanneson, the feasibility of a solar panel recycling system has been proven already. He points to the nine recycling plants currently operating in New South Wales, and a study he ran in Queensland last year which recovered 25,000 panels.
He said while there are valuable materials worth recycling in solar panels, for installers it is often more economic to drop them off at the dump.
How does it work: There are two recyclers currently operating in NSW, PV Industries and Sircel. At these recycling centres, a panel has its junction box snipped off and different parts separated: an aluminium frame, a tempered glass screen and silicon solar cells.
While an overarching federal policy for recycling the panels is in the works — the Smart Energy Council ran a pilot for this in Queensland — the NSW Government is getting the ball rolling themselves and announced it would begin consulting on a mandatory recycling scheme for solar panels in September.
But federal Member for Warringah Zali Steggall said that a state-by-state approach would be “less than ideal”.
“This is a problem that has been going on for a long time … at the moment it's a very piecemeal approach”.
What now: Steggall — currently deputy chair of a federal inquiry into solar panel reuse — said Australia needed “extended producer responsibility” for solar, which would hold solar panel manufacturers responsible for where the technology ends up after it is used.
Under this system, a levy could be enforced on manufacturers to “fund recycling capacity”.
How much: According to the NSW Government, each year NSW produces around 14,000 tonnes of solar panel waste. While a significant amount, this is still far below the amount of waste produced by coal; around five million tonnes of coal ash are produced in NSW annually.
Thumbnail: Sergio Martins via Unsplash