Page 2158 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 5 June 2019
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Current estimates state that across Australia last year approximately 6,000 tonnes of PV panels required disposal, with an expected increase of approximately 100,000 tonnes by 2035. This has significant implications for how we manage the disposal, recovery and recycling of these systems now and into the future.
Although there is a growing expectation from consumers and the general community that PV panels are re-used and recycled, the current arrangements for end-of-life management are ad hoc. This means there is a lack of coordinated programs to manage the disposal of these systems.
That is not to say that these systems cannot be recycled or recovered. In fact, PV technologies are equally suitable for recycling and treatment. Panels are commonly made with glass, aluminium, copper, silver and certain semiconductors that can be recovered for the production of new materials. However, these panels also include plastic components that cannot be recycled. Overseas these plastics are treated in waste-to-energy plants or disposed of in landfill. Currently, average recycling rates for silicon-based PV systems are 70 per cent and up to 90 per cent for non-silicon-based PV panels.
Internationally, countries are currently grappling with how to manage the collection, re-use and recycling of PV systems. International efforts to date have been focused on testing new materials and processes, expanding recycling technologies and changing the design of products so that they can be more easily recycled.
In the ACT and across Australia more broadly, there is no known dedicated PV panel recovery, dismantling and recycling provider operating on a commercial scale. This is due to a number of factors, including the expertise required to dismantle and recycle these panels, the high costs associated with recycling panels, and the low material value, as laminated glass makes up the bulk of the product by weight. While there is a market for refurbishment and redistribution of PV panels domestically and through export, there is currently no co-ordinated approach.
Nationally, PV systems have been identified as an emerging e-waste stream with a lack of local reprocessing options. As a result they have been identified as a priority under the commonwealth Product Stewardship Act 2011. This legislation provides a framework to manage the environmental, health and safety impacts of products, with a particular focus on minimising the impacts associated with disposal of products once they have reached the end of their life. More generally, a product stewardship approach places the responsibility for end-of-life treatment on the manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers and consumers of the product.
To tackle this emerging issue, a multijurisdictional working group has been established to develop a national product stewardship approach for PV panels. Led by the Victorian government, the ACT is part of a working group that has undertaken an assessment of all PV components and stewardship options, in close consultation with Australia’s PV sector. This includes assessing voluntary, co-regulatory and mandatory stewardship pathways. This work has also gathered the evidence base required to inform future approaches.
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