{"id":272037,"date":"2023-08-07T18:58:04","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T16:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=272037"},"modified":"2023-08-07T19:00:18","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T17:00:18","slug":"millions-of-tonnes-of-waste-threaten-environment-as-solar-panels-near-end-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=272037","title":{"rendered":"Millions of Tonnes of Waste Threaten Environment as Solar Panels Near End of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From The Daily Sceptic<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0RICHARD ELDRED<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Millions of solar panels are reaching the end of their lifespan, but with no adequate recycling infrastructure in place to deal with them, an environmental disaster is looming.\u00a0This is Money<\/em>\u00a0has more<\/a>\u00a0on the potential polluting consequences of solar energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Tonnes of solar panels could end up on the scrap heap unless the Government acts now, experts have warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are around 25 million solar panels in the U.K. and 2.5 billion globally. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, there is only one recycling plant in the whole of the U.K. that specialises in recycling solar panels but this is a small operation in Scunthorpe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the company is currently only stockpiling the panels and when they have \u201cenough stock\u201d then they will \u201cinvest in the equipment to recycle them\u201d, a spokesman told\u00a0MailOnline<\/em>, adding that it was \u201cearly days in the industry\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the moment, the number of dead solar panels is only a small scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For comparison, the world currently produces a\u00a0similar amount of plastic waste each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, almost all photovoltaic (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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to the\u00a0MailOnline<\/em>, he clarified: \u201cWell, I think I think it\u2019s probably true to say that scrap panels at the moment do end up in landfill but there hasn\u2019t been that many of them to be honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf they fail, whatever the reason, then they probably have gone to landfill but there\u2019s a big question there about what to do because we can\u2019t carry on doing that. So, there is a big issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2016\u00a0joint report by\u00a0the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS)<\/a>\u00a0conducted the first projection of\u00a0PV panel waste volumes to 2050.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report said that given the surge of solar panel deployment since 2010 and average lifetime and failure rates for panels, waste volumes are \u201ccertain to increase more rapidly after 2030\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Europe is predicted to be the second largest solar panel waste market with projected waste of up to three million by 2030<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asia will remain the largest waste producer with projections of up to 3.5 million accumulated waste, according to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\nWhile the report said there is a huge potential for economic revenue for the disposal of PVs because of the valuable materials and the birth of a new industry, there is little sign that much action is currently being taken.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\n

In 2018, a senior Chinese solar official and research scientist with the German Stuttgart Institute for Photovoltaics, warned that solar panel disposal \u201cwill explode with full force in two or three decades and wreck the environment\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also warned that there will be a huge amount of waste as they are not easy to recycle, adding: \u201cThe reality is that there is a problem now, and it\u2019s only going to get larger, expanding as rapidly as the PV industry expanded 10 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Worth\u00a0reading in full<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Millions of solar panels are reaching the end of their lifespan, but with no adequate recycling infrastructure in place to deal with them, an environmental disaster is looming.\u00a0This is Money\u00a0has more\u00a0on the potential polluting consequences of solar energy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":272048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":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":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691821668,691819262,691818118,691819995,691818412,691821256],"class_list":{"0":"post-272037","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-environmental-disaster","9":"tag-green-agenda","10":"tag-green-energy","11":"tag-pollution","12":"tag-solar-panels","13":"tag-toxic-waste-dumps","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0GettyImages-856896122-1525465460.webp?fit=4896%2C3264&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-18LH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":317462,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=317462","url_meta":{"origin":272037,"position":0},"title":"If Solar Panels Are So Clean, Why Do They Produce So Much Toxic Waste?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"13\/04\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in 2016\u00a0estimated there was about 250,000 metric tonnes of solar panel waste in the world at the end of that year.\u00a0IRENA projected\u00a0that this amount could reach 78\u00a0million\u00a0metric tonnes by 2050.","rel":"","context":"In \"solar panels\"","block_context":{"text":"solar panels","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=solar-panels"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0gettyimages849056020-scaled-1.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0gettyimages849056020-scaled-1.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0gettyimages849056020-scaled-1.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0gettyimages849056020-scaled-1.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0gettyimages849056020-scaled-1.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":338971,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=338971","url_meta":{"origin":272037,"position":1},"title":"Coming Clean on Clean Energy: It\u2019s a Dirty Business","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/08\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Unless you\u2019ve been living under a rock, you are probably aware of the massive push to transition to green energy. The goal is to have wind and solar replace coal and natural gas; the electric vehicle (EV) will supposedly replace internal combustion engines. 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Trump Tariffs Good for\u00a0Environment","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"31\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"China\u2019s dominant production of rare earth elements (REE) has led to significant environmental degradation.","rel":"","context":"In \"China\u2019s pollution-heavy rare earth industry\"","block_context":{"text":"China\u2019s pollution-heavy rare earth industry","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=chinas-pollution-heavy-rare-earth-industry"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_0457-1.png?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_0457-1.png?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_0457-1.png?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_0457-1.png?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_0457-1.png?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":419304,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=419304","url_meta":{"origin":272037,"position":3},"title":"BBC: \u201cIndia\u2019s solar boom faces a hidden waste problem\u201d","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"31\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201c\u2026 trace toxic metals like lead and cadmium can pollute soil and water if mishandled \u2026\u201d","rel":"","context":"In \"BBC\"","block_context":{"text":"BBC","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bbc"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0AQNLAbQud8A5X-0JTHaWjkuJjxfV1nSxdAr0ahKCR4MvovX1UhHCexMPT_dg5-y7riImSQU4zf98v9vT0V8bdWFj8KMKttnLI-hnHVU8qsO_6HJy-6nfAf8zppD9ZydL-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0AQNLAbQud8A5X-0JTHaWjkuJjxfV1nSxdAr0ahKCR4MvovX1UhHCexMPT_dg5-y7riImSQU4zf98v9vT0V8bdWFj8KMKttnLI-hnHVU8qsO_6HJy-6nfAf8zppD9ZydL-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0AQNLAbQud8A5X-0JTHaWjkuJjxfV1nSxdAr0ahKCR4MvovX1UhHCexMPT_dg5-y7riImSQU4zf98v9vT0V8bdWFj8KMKttnLI-hnHVU8qsO_6HJy-6nfAf8zppD9ZydL-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0AQNLAbQud8A5X-0JTHaWjkuJjxfV1nSxdAr0ahKCR4MvovX1UhHCexMPT_dg5-y7riImSQU4zf98v9vT0V8bdWFj8KMKttnLI-hnHVU8qsO_6HJy-6nfAf8zppD9ZydL-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0AQNLAbQud8A5X-0JTHaWjkuJjxfV1nSxdAr0ahKCR4MvovX1UhHCexMPT_dg5-y7riImSQU4zf98v9vT0V8bdWFj8KMKttnLI-hnHVU8qsO_6HJy-6nfAf8zppD9ZydL-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":303946,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=303946","url_meta":{"origin":272037,"position":4},"title":"Time to Retire the Term \u201cRenewable Energy\u201d from Serious Discussions and Policy Directives: Part 3","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"23\/02\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cRenewable good, non-renewable bad\u201d is far too simplistic and unfortunately influential","rel":"","context":"In \"fossil fuels\"","block_context":{"text":"fossil fuels","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=fossil-fuels"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/5f3c4f30cb34dc2ac325aab70c566517.jpeg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/5f3c4f30cb34dc2ac325aab70c566517.jpeg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/5f3c4f30cb34dc2ac325aab70c566517.jpeg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/5f3c4f30cb34dc2ac325aab70c566517.jpeg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/5f3c4f30cb34dc2ac325aab70c566517.jpeg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":345200,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=345200","url_meta":{"origin":272037,"position":5},"title":"The Green New Folly: How Virtue-Signaling Killed a Ferry and Wasted Millions","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/10\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Ladies and gentlemen, grab your popcorn because the green energy saga out of Schleswig-Holstein has everything: incompetence, mindless virtue-signaling, and an eco-friendly ferry that apparently doubles as a wind sail. 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