Millions of solar panels are destined for landfill because there’s nowhere to recycle them

• EXCLUSIVE: Solar panels fitted from 2010, they are now approaching end 
• Unless action is taken, the UK could see tonnes of solar panel waste in landfill 

Tonnes of solar panels could end up on the scrap heap unless the Government acts now, experts have warned.

There are around 25million solar panels in the UK and as 2.5billion globally.

Governments across the world, the UK included, have been pushing for green alternatives to fossil fuels in order to hit emission targets in a bid to tackle climate change.

But as the first generation of solar panels are expected to die off in the coming years, experts have warned that many could end up in landfill rather than recycled because of a drastic lack of infrastructure.

Currently, there is only one recycling plant in the whole of the UK that specialises in recycling solar panels but this is a small operation in Scunthorpe.

However, the company is currently only stockpiling the panels and when they have ‘enough stock’ then they will ‘invest in the equipment to recycle them’, a spokesman told Mail Online, adding that it was ‘early days in the industry’. 

The only place in the entire world that will recycle solar panels on an industrial scale is the first Return of Silicon Plant (ROSI) in France, which was due to open last month.

At the moment, the number of dead solar panels is only a small scale.

But the first generation of solar panels is forecast to die within the next five or ten years and according to Professor Chris Sansom at the University of Derby, by 2050 we could have 300 million tonnes of scrap panels globally.

For comparison, the world currently produces a similar amount of plastic waste each year.

Currently, almost all PV panel waste goes into landfill and only very small numbers are recycled by labour-intensive and expensive means as they must be taken apart by hand, the professor added.

Speaking to the MailOnline, he clarified: ‘Well, I think I think it’s probably true to say that scrap panels at the moment do end up in landfill but there hasn’t been that many of them to be honest.

‘The panels that people are putting on their homes and have put on their homes in the last five or 10 years, whatever it is, will still be there because they last for at least 20 years and possibly even 30 years.

‘If they fail, whatever the reason, then they probably have gone to landfill but there’s a big question there about what to do because we can’t carry on doing that. So, there is a big issue.’

A 2016 joint report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS) conducted the first projection of PV panel waste volumes to 2050. 

The report said that given the surge of solar panel deployment since 2010 and average lifetime and failure rates for panels, waste volumes are ‘certain to increase more rapidly after 2030’.

Europe is predicted to be the second largest solar panel waste market with projected waste of up to 3million by 2030.

Asia will remain the largest waste producer with projections of up to 3.5million accumulated waste, according to the report.

While the report said there is a huge potential for economic revenue for the disposal of PVs because of the vaulable materials and the birth of a new industry, there is little sign that much action is currently being taken.

In 2018, a senior Chinese solar official and research scientist with the German Stuttgart Institute for Photovoltaics, warned that solar panel disposal ‘will explode with full force in two or three decades and wreck the environment’.

He also warned that there will be a huge amount of waste as they are not easy to recycle, adding: ‘The reality is that there is a problem now, and it’s only going to get larger, expanding as rapidly as the PV industry expanded 10 years ago.

‘Contrary to previous assumptions, pollutants such as lead or carcinogenic cadmium can be almost completely washed out of the fragments of solar modules over a period of several months, for example by rainwater.’

But some people were completely unaware of the lack of recycling facilities in the UK.

Steve Povey, 60, from Walmer, Kent, said: ‘First lot were installed about six years ago on a previous property which I now rent out.

‘Cost £6,000 and supplied electric for 1/3 of usage, £350 a year FiT Tariff.

‘Second lot was just installed over 18 months ago with a battery storage upgrade.

‘The reason was to bring down energy bills. Cost £6,500, half-price electric over the course of the year.

‘It’s about an £80-month saving. Plus approximately £400-year FiT tariff.

‘I didn’t know that solar panels could end up in landfill but it hasn’t changed my opinion on having them.

‘The same could be said for electric cars but the government is pushing forward to both.

‘I’d rather they were recycled.’

Solar panels also contain pollutants such as lead or the carcinogenic cadmium which can be washed out.

Although, some solar panels contain more hazardous materials than others depending on the type.

According to The EcoExperts, if solar cells are not disposed of correctly then these chemicals can seep into the ground, contaminating both the soil and possibly even drinking water.

While solar panels were first introduced in the late 90s and early 2000s, it is only relatively recently that there has been a huge boom in the solar panel market.

Millions of households across the UK have installed solar panels on their homes in order to bring down their energy bills and to help reduce carbon emissions.

The price of solar panels has dramatically decreased too as according to Solar Power Portal, from 2015 to 2020 alone, solar module prices fell by 45 per cent.

According to Josh Jackman at The Eco Experts, it’s a legal requirement for solar installers to join a Producer Compliance Scheme which requires them to take panels off a customer’s house when the lifespan is over.

‘The UK follows the EU’s Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, meaning that effectively it’s illegal to throw solar panels in landfills’ he said.

‘The UK doesn’t have to adhere to the EU Directive, but still does and hopefully will continue to do so since it’s better for the planet and the economy for these materials to be reused and recycled.’

He added: ‘We have a target of reusing or recycling 80 per cent of large electronic equipment, which includes solar panels.

‘We’re almost certainly not reaching that target at the moment, though it’s impossible to tell, since solar panels are on a long list of products with everything from washing machines to musical equipment.

‘It’s currently an expensive process, and there’s only one recycling centre in the UK that operates on an industrial scale – Recycle Solar, located in Scunthorpe, which recycles hundreds of solar panels per year.

‘However, reaching this target is less important right now, because there aren’t many solar panels coming to the end of their lifespan. Not many households were going solar 25 or 30 years ago.

‘This number will increase in the next 5-10 years, and recycling companies are gearing up to meet demand, while researchers and manufacturers are working to make the process easier and more effective.

‘At the moment, yes, there aren’t enough resources to deal with what the demand will be, but the solar recycling industry in the UK is growing and should be able to cope with rising demand by the time it’s an issue.

‘Some end up in landfills, but most are shredded – that is, it’s broken apart in less efficient and effective (but still useful) ways, to create things like material for road construction.’

However, it should be noted that the recent sewage discharge into the UK’s rivers and oceans has been blamed on Britain’s departure from the EU which no longer requires Britain to the EU Water Framework Directive and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.

Recycling experts at CSG Recovery said that 96 per cent of solar panels can be recycled and that they are planning on opening a new recycling facility in Blackburn.

Greg Smith, Technical Manager at CSG Recovery, said: ‘Solar panels have a shelf life of around 25 years so we are starting to see those originally installed around the year 2000 coming to the end of their cycle,” said Greg.

‘There are not many companies providing a recycling service but it is a waste stream that is coming and there will be a lot of solar panels needing to be replaced, particularly those from large solar farms.

‘We believe we can recycle around 96% of each panel.

‘If we get the process right there is no reason why solar panels need to end up in landfill.

 ‘We are looking to set up the process in Blackburn very quickly.’

But other experts are less optimistic about whether the government will do enough to tackle the burgeoning problem.

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