Yuma is now home to one of the nation’s first solar panel recycling plants. As thousands of panels are decommissioned, We Recycle Solar is working to reduce the carbon footprint of solar panel waste. The company’s CEO, Adam Saghei, says it’s primarily the glass and metals that get reused from the panels.
“Eventually, you get down to the raw 70% of the panel, which is glass. That basically gets ground up and separated from the other medals. Basically, you have all these commodities that can be put back in the marketplace,” he said.
He says a typical solar panel lasts 20-30 years, and it’s all about finding a new life for the panels to keep solar sustainable. “I hate to say this, but 90% of solar panels end up in the landfills, and that’s because it costs a lot less to go to the landfill,” Saghei said.