By 2050 its been estimated that there will be 1,532,000 tons of Solar panel waste in Australia, destined for landfill.
However, these figures are likely set to rise exponentially with the increasing uptake of Renewable Energy in response to emergency climate change mandates and rapid Industry growth.
This problem is an issue in our region which has seen large numbers of Solar systems being discarded prematurely as a result of partial damage inflicted by bushfires and storms.
Recent initiatives to put in place materials recycling infrastructure of Solar panels and associated components is proving to be very expensive, with indicative pricing to regional area councils of over $30 per panel. These industrialised materials recycling initiatives however, do not consider the remaining useful life of most of the discarded components. In our experience, this can represent as much as 70% of panels slated for landfill prematurely, having over half of their useful life remaining.
With your support Repurposing for Resilience have the opportunity to prove the feasibility for intercepting discarded solar waste prior to materials recycling.
Their initiative has seen the collection, processing, reclassification, and application of warranty for resale of these useful solar components back to the community. This initiative offers the potential for considerable savings to our local councils and constituents and will create employment and training opportunities whilst offering low-cost solar installations to those in need.
In all the development is an innovative response to address some of the challenges being faced in regional NSW.
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