{"id":12873,"date":"2017-07-03T09:05:48","date_gmt":"2017-07-02T22:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=12873"},"modified":"2018-05-24T08:03:07","modified_gmt":"2018-05-23T21:33:07","slug":"solar-panel-recycling-mb0107","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/","title":{"rendered":"A Solar Waste Crisis On The Horizon?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Solar

Recycling solar panels | Image : Public Domain<\/p><\/div>\n

A pro-nuclear group has warned of a potential solar waste crisis – so what is happening with regard to solar panel recycling?<\/p>\n

The group, Environmental Progress, says solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than nuclear power plants and also claims solar requires around seven times more materials per terawatt-hours produced than nuclear power.<\/p>\n

The discussion thread accompanying the repor<\/a>t has some accusing Environmental Progress of not making an apples-to-apples comparison between the two technologies on a number of fronts. SQ blogger Ronald has written previously on claims in relation to the impact of solar panels on the environment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The group’s report also brings the important issue of solar panel recycling back into the spotlight.<\/p>\n

While good quality solar panels are expected to have a service life of at least 25 years (and some have already been working for much longer), something needs to be done with the panels when they reach the end of their life – and landfill is certainly not a good option.<\/p>\n

In Australia, there are now more solar panels<\/a> installed than there are people in the country. Australia’s solar revolution started kicking into gear around a decade ago; so it’s an issue that will become more pressing within 15 years. Added to this are the poor quality panels that will fail sooner and those that are damaged in the interim.<\/p>\n

Solar Panel Recycling A Multi-Billion Dollar Opportunity<\/h2>\n

The issue of end-of-life solar panels shouldn’t just be viewed as a potential threat – it’s an opportunity, and a significant one.<\/p>\n

A report<\/a> published last year by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) states a typical crystalline solar panel (c-Si), consists of\u00a0 around 76% glass, 10% polymer, 8% aluminium , 5% silicon, 1% copper and less than 0.1% silver and other metals (being mostly tin and lead) by weight. These percentages will change somewhat over time as manufacturing processes are refined and reduced amounts of materials such as silicon are used.<\/p>\n

By weight, most of a crystalline solar panel is recyclable – glass, aluminium, silicon, copper and silver are all valuable materials.<\/p>\n

Reclaiming these materials and others from all solar panel types could be a real money-spinner stated<\/a> IRENA:<\/p>\n

” If fully injected back into the economy, the value of the recovered material could exceed USD 15 billion by 2050. This potential material influx could produce 2 billion new panels or be sold into global commodity markets, thus increasing the security of future PV supply or other raw material-dependent products.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Environmental issues combined with the lure of huge profits provides a compelling case for solar panel recycling not falling by the wayside.<\/p>\n

Europe Leading The Way<\/h2>\n

In Europe, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) requires producers to take-back and recycle solar panels<\/a> – and consumers must not face any additional cost for the service.<\/p>\n

PV-CYCLE<\/h2>\n

Established in 2007, non-profit\u00a0 PV CYCLE<\/a> has played an important role in solar waste management in Europe, where it guarantees average recycling rates between 90 and 97%. PV CYCLE is gradually building out across the world and already has a presence in the USA (SEIA also implemented a program<\/a> last year in the US). In May, PV CYCLE launched its take-back and recycling service in Japan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What About China?<\/h2>\n

According to Global Market Insights, recycling laws and regulations<\/a> are to be introduced in China to address growing panel waste volumes.<\/p>\n

In-House Programs<\/h2>\n

Some solar panel producers have introduced their own programs. For example, First Solar<\/a> has its own recycling facilities in the U.S., Germany and Malaysia.<\/p>\n

Solar Panel Recycling In Australia<\/h2>\n

Reclaim PV Recycling<\/a>, which appears to be the nation’s only PV recycler at this point, is developing infrastructure for the future of recycling and waste management in Australia’s photovoltaic industry. According to an article published on The Lead<\/a> last year, the company was working with several tier one<\/a> panel suppliers including SunPower<\/a>; with more manufacturers in its pipeline. Status of the program was unclear at the time of publishing.<\/p>\n

While the issue of end-of-life solar panels is an important one, the outlook may not be as dire as Environmental Progress seems to portray. Progress is being made, but it’s important that it continues and accelerates so solar panel waste doesn’t become a huge problem in the years ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A pro-nuclear group has warned of a potential solar waste crisis – so what is happening with regard to solar panel recycling?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":12874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-battery-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Solar Waste Crisis On The Horizon? - SolarQuotes Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A pro-nuclear group has warned of a potential solar waste crisis - so what's happening with regard to solar panel recycling?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Solar Waste Crisis On The Horizon?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A pro-nuclear group has warned of a potential solar waste crisis - so what's happening with regard to solar panel recycling?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-02T22:35:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-23T21:33:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-panel-recycling.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"470\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Bloch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Bloch\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1\"},\"headline\":\"A Solar Waste Crisis On The Horizon?\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-02T22:35:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-23T21:33:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/\"},\"wordCount\":727,\"commentCount\":7,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-panel-recycling.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"General Solar & Storage News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/\",\"name\":\"A Solar Waste Crisis On The Horizon? - SolarQuotes Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-panel-recycling.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-02T22:35:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-23T21:33:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"A pro-nuclear group has warned of a potential solar waste crisis - so what's happening with regard to solar panel recycling?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-panel-recycling.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-panel-recycling.png\",\"width\":700,\"height\":470,\"caption\":\"Recycling solar panels | Image : Public Domain\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"General Solar & Storage News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"A Solar Waste Crisis On The Horizon?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes Blog\",\"description\":\"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"width\":592,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"SolarQuotes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/\",\"https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1\",\"name\":\"Michael Bloch\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Michael Bloch\"},\"description\":\"Michael caught the solar power bug after purchasing components to cobble together a small off-grid PV system in 2008. He's been reporting on Australian and international solar energy news ever since.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/michael\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Solar Waste Crisis On The Horizon? - SolarQuotes Blog","description":"A pro-nuclear group has warned of a potential solar waste crisis - so what's happening with regard to solar panel recycling?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Solar Waste Crisis On The Horizon?","og_description":"A pro-nuclear group has warned of a potential solar waste crisis - so what's happening with regard to solar panel recycling?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/","og_site_name":"SolarQuotes Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","article_published_time":"2017-07-02T22:35:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-23T21:33:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":470,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-panel-recycling.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Michael Bloch","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@solar_quotes","twitter_site":"@solar_quotes","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Bloch","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1"},"headline":"A Solar Waste Crisis On The Horizon?","datePublished":"2017-07-02T22:35:48+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-23T21:33:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/"},"wordCount":727,"commentCount":7,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-panel-recycling.png","articleSection":["General Solar & Storage News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/","name":"A Solar Waste Crisis On The Horizon? - SolarQuotes Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-panel-recycling.png","datePublished":"2017-07-02T22:35:48+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-23T21:33:07+00:00","description":"A pro-nuclear group has warned of a potential solar waste crisis - so what's happening with regard to solar panel recycling?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-panel-recycling.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-panel-recycling.png","width":700,"height":470,"caption":"Recycling solar panels | Image : Public Domain"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0107\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"General Solar & Storage News","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"A Solar Waste Crisis On The Horizon?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","name":"SolarQuotes Blog","description":"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization","name":"SolarQuotes","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","width":592,"height":600,"caption":"SolarQuotes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/","https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1","name":"Michael Bloch","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Michael Bloch"},"description":"Michael caught the solar power bug after purchasing components to cobble together a small off-grid PV system in 2008. He's been reporting on Australian and international solar energy news ever since.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/michael\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-panel-recycling.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-3lD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94287,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-stewardship-mb3262\/","url_meta":{"origin":12873,"position":0},"title":"Time\u2019s Up: Push For Solar Panel Stewardship Scheme","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"September 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Only a small percentage of Australia's decommissioned solar panels are being recycled. This isn't through a lack of know-how, but a failure to act by successive governments according to a joint statement signed by dozens of groups. Call For Government Action On Solar PV Waste Led by the Smart Energy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Panels"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Panels","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar panel waste","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33866,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/recycling-solar-panel-waste\/","url_meta":{"origin":12873,"position":1},"title":"Tossing Old Solar Panels Into Landfill Is Greener Than Recycling Them","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"December 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Recycling is a good thing.\u00a0 Most of the time.\u00a0 Humans have been reusing material for thousands of years, probably beginning on a large scale when early agriculturalists noticed poo is good for plants.\u00a0 Ancient Greeks didn't let pieces of broken pottery go to waste and used them like notepaper, while\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar and the Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Solar and the Environment","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-and-the-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Recycling solar panels","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/no-recycling.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/no-recycling.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/no-recycling.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/no-recycling.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/no-recycling.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":64491,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/rockhampton-solar-energy-mb2597\/","url_meta":{"origin":12873,"position":2},"title":"Rockhampton Regional Council Reflects On Solar Energy Efforts","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"August 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Queensland's Rockhampton Regional Council seems pretty pleased with its sustainability efforts during the 2021-22 financial year - including those relating to solar power. Last week Council released its 2021-22 Year in Review Report, which examines progress the organisation has made against its Environmental Sustainability Strategy. The Strategy outlines actions required\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rockhampton Council - solar power","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/rockhampton-council-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/rockhampton-council-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/rockhampton-council-solar.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/rockhampton-council-solar.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/rockhampton-council-solar.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":66044,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-waste-challenge-mb2657\/","url_meta":{"origin":12873,"position":3},"title":"Victoria Launches Solar Waste Challenge","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"October 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In an effort to find new ways of recycling solar panels in terms of materials recovery, Breakthrough Victoria\u2019s $10 million Solar Waste Challenge was officially launched on Friday. Breakthrough Victoria is an independent company managing a $2 billion investment fund set up by the Victorian Government designed to: Support new\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Victoria Solar Waste Challenge","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/solar-waste-challenge.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/solar-waste-challenge.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/solar-waste-challenge.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/solar-waste-challenge.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/solar-waste-challenge.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":97276,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/australia-solar-recycling-mb3360\/","url_meta":{"origin":12873,"position":4},"title":"National Solar Panel Recycling Scheme Launched In Australia","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"January 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"On Friday afternoon, the Albanese Government announced millions of dollars to deliver and support a long-awaited National Solar Panel Recycling Pilot. How Will The National Solar Panel Recycling Pilot Operate? The Albanese Government will invest $24.7 million over three years to divert end-of-life solar panels from landfill to facilities that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Panels"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Panels","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Australia's National Solar Panel Recycling Pilot.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74687,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solutions-to-solar-panel-recycling\/","url_meta":{"origin":12873,"position":5},"title":"Some Solutions To Solar Panel Recycling In Australia","author":"Kim Wainwright","date":"June 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you scratching your head over what to do with old solar panels?\u00a0 After dissecting solar panel recycling's tricky challenges yesterday, today I'm plunging headfirst into solutions. First up, I'm bringing in Megan Jones from Circular PV Alliance (CPVA) - who made an appearance in Part One of this series.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Panels"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Panels","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"piles of old solar panels","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/solar-panel-recycling-pt2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/solar-panel-recycling-pt2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/solar-panel-recycling-pt2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/solar-panel-recycling-pt2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/solar-panel-recycling-pt2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12873"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21732,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12873\/revisions\/21732"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}