About

THE HISTORY AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF WA SOLAR RECYCLING
ABOUT US

In 2018 there were minimal viable recycling options for most solar equipment, but the potential for repurposing was apparent. As there were no businesses providing this service in Perth, WA Solar Recycling was born.

In the first few years of operation, assessed functional solar panels were shipped to African nations. This provided very low cost power solutions in regions where there was no access to energy grids. Many panel exporters emerged after this point and WA Solar Recycling stepped back from this space.

Currently, approximately 80% of equipment coming through our doors is sent out for the reuse market. The remaining 20% is either recycled or stored in anticipation of pending technological advancement which will allow recycling.

PRODUCTS DIVERTED FROM LANDFILL

During the consultation phase of the WA e-waste to landfill ban, a cost benefit analysis was conducted which referenced data from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) stating that PVs make up 2% of e-waste generation by weight, which works out at only 1.4 tonnes annually1. We find this figure vastly lower than what we would expect based upon our industry insight. A recently released study2 conducted by UNSW indicated Perth is a high PV waste area requiring immediate action, with a projected 3,500 tonnes of waste produced in Perth in 2023 and a further 1,000 tonnes in Bussleton alone.

Since our inception WA solar Recycling has proudly saved over 41,870 panels from landfill. This works out at 837.4 tonnes in 6 years, or 139.5 tonnes annually. The amount of panels we divert demonstrates the huge impact of our small operation, perhaps government stats would be higher if we were not capturing these panels. The volume received is expected to increase as rooftop PV becomes more common, and as panels installed since the government rebate system has been in place (2001) begin to be replaced due to age.

  1. Synergies Economic Consulting and DWER, Cost Benefit Analysis of Options for an E-waste Landfill Ban in Western Australia (2022) ↩︎
  2. Rong Deng, Verity Tan, Chence Niu, Renate Egan, Scoping Study: Solar Panel End-of-Life Management in Australia (2024) ↩︎