Last year, 5,000 tons of solar modules were collected for recycling in France. That figure could hit 50,000 tons by 2030, EU-funded panel recycling body PV Cycle has predicted. Europe-wide, the organization had collected more than 27,000 metric tons of modules by the end of 2018, demonstrating the management of solar waste and recycling of panels with a 25-year lifespan, is of paramount importance.
EU regulations require 85% collection and 80% recycling of the materials used in PV panels, under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, which was extended to solar products in 2012. At 94.7%, the recovery rate of a crystalline silicon-based PV module already exceeds those levels, says PV Cycle. The industrial plant which makes it possible to achieve that rate is in Rousset, in the Bouches-du-Rhône region of France. The facility is operated by Veolia and said to be the first industrial plant of its kind.
Made up of aluminum, glass, plastic, copper, silver and silicon, solar panels are cut and crushed after the frame, cables and junction box have been removed. The components are separated and sent to separate recycling streams. “Ninety-five per cent is an exceptional recycling figure, especially for a multi-component product,” PV Cycle communications manager Bertrand Lempkowicz told pv magazine France. “Only soda cans can claim to do better but they don’t reach 100% either. A washing machine doesn’t come close to 70% recycling, everyone has one but nobody cares.”
What about the 5.3% of solar panel components that is not recycled? “The non-recycled materials are mainly dust trapped in the filters after shredding,” said Lempkowicz. “They don’t count [as part of a solar panel], but these filters will also be recycled. The dust can also be incinerated or used as a substitute for sand in construction, since glass, silicon and silicone are all derived from sand.