{"id":97276,"date":"2026-01-19T04:34:48","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T19:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=97276"},"modified":"2026-01-19T04:34:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T19:04:48","slug":"australia-solar-recycling-mb3360","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/australia-solar-recycling-mb3360\/","title":{"rendered":"National Solar Panel Recycling Scheme Launched In Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Australia's<\/p>\n

On Friday afternoon, the Albanese Government announced millions of dollars to deliver and support a long-awaited National Solar Panel Recycling Pilot.<\/p>\n

How Will The National Solar Panel Recycling Pilot Operate?<\/h2>\n

The Albanese Government will invest $24.7 million over three years to divert end-of-life solar panels<\/a> from landfill to facilities that will recover valuable materials such as copper, silver and aluminium. This initiative will include establishing up to 100 pilot collection sites nationwide.<\/p>\n

An Administrator for the Pilot will be appointed soon; with collection services starting as soon as practicable thereafter.<\/p>\n

The announcement was very light on specifics about how, what, when and where; but the Smart Energy Council (SEC) seems to have more information.<\/p>\n

The SEC says the pilot will directly inform the development of a permanent scheme. It will test various transport options and consult with recyclers on identifying and solving practical challenges, and gather important national data on costs of recycling across different regions.<\/p>\n

The Smart Energy Council says that the program is a result of dozens of organisations calling for a national and mandatory<\/a> solar panel stewardship scheme last year, and is an essential next step to building on successful Queensland pilots.<\/p>\n

“By standing together, we have ensured that the federal government recognizes the urgent need for a sustainable, circular solution for end-of-life solar PV panels.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Councils Applaud Pilot<\/h2>\n

Solar PV waste has increasingly become a headache for Australian councils in terms of taking up space in landfills; where permitted. So, it’s no surprise the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) welcomed the announcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncils play a critical frontline role in waste and resource recovery, managing a large number of waste facilities across the country,” said<\/a> ALGA President, Matt Burnett. “Any national approach to decreasing the quantities of waste going to landfill or stockpiled helps manage the current unsustainable pressures on councils.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Productivity Commission Pushes PV Recycling Opportunity<\/h2>\n

Coinciding with the announcement, a Productivity Commission (PC) report was also released Friday, looking at opportunities in Australia’s circular economy to improve materials productivity and efficiency while also benefiting the economy and the environment.<\/p>\n

One of the focus issues in the report<\/a> is waste from electronic products such as solar PV systems and EV batteries creating challenges for resource recovery and environmental management.<\/p>\n

“Australia\u2019s solar boom is projected to generate an 18-fold increase in PV waste from 2019 to 2030 as existing stock comes to the end of its useful life,” states the Commission. “Because of their bulky nature and the high costs associated with recycling (including specialised handling and infrastructure) or proper disposal, solar PV system and EV battery waste is often stockpiled or illegally dumped or exported to other countries.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But it’s not just panels reaching the end of their expected service life that are of concern. Poor quality panels are failing early, and many with years of energy generation left in them are being ditched during system upgrades.<\/p>\n

The Productivity Commission’s related recommendation:<\/p>\n

“Recommendation 5.2<\/b>
\nEstablish a national product stewardship scheme for small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and investigate a national product stewardship scheme for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to a joint ministerial press release, only 17 per cent of solar panels are being recycled currently. Increasing this could create up to $7.3 billion in benefits as a result of reduced waste and reuse of materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy turning old solar panels into valuable resources, this scheme will create more local jobs, and power a future made in Australia, enticing greater investment in our booming solar industry,” said<\/a> Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Finally, Progress On PV Panel Recycling<\/h2>\n

In 2021<\/a>, the solar industry was put on notice by the then-Morrison Government that an industry-led nationwide stewardship scheme design must be finalised by June 2022. The Clean Energy Council (CEC) challenged the government, stating it had worked to develop a comprehensive, nationwide plan over the previous year, but that the Federal Government had \u201cwalked away\u201d from the collaboration.<\/p>\n

In the years since, there have been various proposals and opinions from government departments on a national scheme; but no real action on their part \u2014 until now.<\/p>\n

On a related note, we recently reported University of Newcastle researchers have developed a more efficient method for the recovery of high-grade silver from end-of-life solar panels<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Friday afternoon, the Albanese Government announced millions of dollars to deliver and support a long-awaited National Solar Panel Recycling Pilot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":97277,"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":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-panels-2","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNational Solar Panel Recycling Scheme Launched In Australia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Albanese Government has announced millions of dollars to deliver and support a 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The pilot\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 panels being recycled","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/solar-recycling-pilot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/solar-recycling-pilot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/solar-recycling-pilot.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/solar-recycling-pilot.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/solar-recycling-pilot.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":86408,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/qld-pv-recycling-mb2997\/","url_meta":{"origin":97276,"position":1},"title":"QLD Solar Panel Recycling Initiative Kicks Off","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"August 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A solar panel recycling, reuse and recovery pilot scheme in Queensland was officially launched in Redlands yesterday. The program appears to have its roots in an initiative announced last year, the first stage of which was to identify participants and locations to divert end-of-life rooftop solar panels from landfill. The\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":"Solar panel recycling in Queensland","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/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\/2024\/08\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/solar-panel-recycling.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/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":97276,"position":2},"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":[]},{"id":23558,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-recycling-mb0712\/","url_meta":{"origin":97276,"position":3},"title":"German Pilot Solar Panel Recycling Plant A Success","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"August 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"An industrial solar panel recycling plant built in Germany as a pilot project has performed well according to the European Commission's Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS). German engineering company Geltz Umwelt-Technologie built the facility under the ELSi project, an EU funded initiative. While the glass on a solar\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":"Solar panel recycling","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/solar-panel-recycling.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/solar-panel-recycling.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/solar-panel-recycling.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/solar-panel-recycling.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29033,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-waste-australia-mb0989\/","url_meta":{"origin":97276,"position":4},"title":"Australia’s Solar Waste Problem “Underestimated”","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"March 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Good quality solar panels will last decades. The problem is not all solar panels installed in Australia have been of good quality. An article published this morning on the ABC's web site notes a small PV module recycling business in Adelaide has been overwhelmed by demand for its services. Reclaim\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":"Solar panel waste in Australia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/solar-panel-waste.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/solar-panel-waste.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/solar-panel-waste.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/solar-panel-waste.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/solar-panel-waste.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94287,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-stewardship-mb3262\/","url_meta":{"origin":97276,"position":5},"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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97276","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=97276"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97281,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97276\/revisions\/97281"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}